Ancient Greece

The next morning, you were awoken when servants brought in breakfast. You ate and dressed as your cousin sent you gleeful glances while she ate.
“If you have something to say, don’t just sit there like a mouse” you told her slowly.
“You plan on leaving with him, don’t you?” she asked.
“Of course, dear cousin. I love you, but I have found a different life for myself” you explained.
“All the better for me, I know my father would want you to marry Eunkwang if you stayed.”
“As far worse match that would be” you smiled and finished eating, ready to go find Changsub.
You walked to his room and knocked. There was no response so you timidly opened the door and found the room empty. Thinking he must’ve gotten an early start to the morning, you didn’t think much into this and began the search for your uncle, hoping to find Changsub along the way.
Entering a banquet chamber, a long table sat at the middle of the room. Your uncle sat at one end conversing animatedly with Eunkwang.
“Welcome, princess. Take a seat” Eunkwang spoke to you politely. You obliged and sat on the other side of your uncle. They continued conversing as a few of Eunkwang’s advisors entered. They too joined in on the conversation, until there was a lull. This allowed one of them to get down to business.
“Eunkwang, I have given your father council over his rule and I now do the same for you. This meeting cannot go unused; it is a time to pick a wife” this older man spoke, you stood to excuse yourself when your uncle reached for your hand and pulled you back down.
“This conversation concerns you, my dear” he said, leading you back to your chair.
“I disagree.” You looked from your uncle to Eunkwang.
“I have many fine daughters, but their heads are empty. With Changsub leaving last night, I presumed this was your way of agreeing to marry Eunkwang?” you froze.
“Who left?” you asked must not have heard your uncle correctly.
“Changsub. He rode out nearly after midnight last night. I had thought this was him learning of your accepting this proposal”
“This is my first time learning of this proposal, and I do not accept!” you said firmly and pulled your hand from your uncle’s grasp. You turned to leave and made your way to the library.
Your head was spinning; a marriage proposal? Changsub leaving? None of this could be true.
A short while later, your uncle caught up with you. He found you crying as you sat at a desk in the center of the room.
“Forgive me as I lend you a thousand apologies. I was under the impression you had been told by my wife of the intentions. I thought you would never accept which is why I was surprised when I learned of Changsub leaving last night. Forgive my misunderstanding.” He kissed the top of your head.
“My cousins are a much better fit! You know this!”
“I do, but Eunkwang has to decide who he wants to marry” your uncle explained as he wrapped a caring arm round you.
“Why would he leave me, uncle?” you asked softly.
“Mostly because men are foolish.” He said.
“I would like to borrow a horse. I must go after him and if I leave now I might be able to catch him up” you pulled away from your uncle and stood up. He shook his head and waved his hands to calm you.
“I’m sure this can be arranged but to just take a horse is hardly proper planning. You will need food and water…” your uncle began outlining when a guard entered the room.
“Excuse my interruption- there have been bandits spotted heading this way. We are locking down the palace” he informed you.
“No, I must leave!” you spoke to your uncle.
“Allow me to go find Eunkwang and his council members. Give me the time to find more information before you rush off in haste. As your uncle, I beg this of you” he said as he left the room. You knew he was right and left to retire to your room. There was nothing else to do but wait.
Entering your room, you found your cousin by the window. She didn’t turn to look at you as you entered. You found this odd but did not question her.
“Were we not raised like sisters?” she asked you, once you sat on the bed.
“We were. Why do you speak like this?” you asked.
“You should know. Just last night we spoke of how I would be a good fit as Eunkwang’s wife!” she had begun to cry.
“And you would be! I have not accepted his proposal, nor would I ever!” you stood and argued back to her.
“That is not the story that I have heard!” She said and took a step towards you.
“The story you heard is wrong! I would not accept a proposal from someone other than…” you trailed off and could not finish your sentence.
“If you wish to be his wife, than I give you my blessing” you offered as you sat on the bed and looked away from her.
“Why has Changsub left, then?” she asked in a softer voice as she walked over and sat next to you.
“You tell me, cousin” you rested your head on her shoulder sadly.
“Men are foolish” she said, sensing your heart break.
“Father says the same thing” you smiled as your cousin hugged you caringly.
The next morning, you woke early and headed right for the library where you were hoping you would find your uncle. Entering the doorway, you stopped when you saw it was only occupied by Eunkwang.
“Sorry, I was looking for my uncle. I will excuse myself” you bowed and made a motion to turn around when Eunkwang stopped you.
“Forgive me! For last night…” he added.
“You are forgiven.” You went to leave once more when he continued.
“Your aunt had told me you would accept my proposal. She said her daughters had all been promised to others. She said you would be the perfect fit” he explained.
“My aunt is a snake. She flatters me, but she knows nothing of a good fit. She only worries I will not marry royally and give our family a poor name” Eunkwang nodded with understanding at your words.
“We have been childhood friends, and if I can ask for your honesty…” he began.
“Of course, if you ask it of me” you nodded and turned to face him, less eager to leave the room.
“Your eldest cousin… has she been truly promised in marriage to another?” he asked as he fiddled with the papers on top of a table he was standing next to.
“She has not, and, if you truly want my honesty- she would jump at the chance to be your wife” you concluded and smiled. Eunkwang looked happy with this information.
“If I may ask more of your hospitality…” an idea occurred to you.
“I need to borrow a horse. I must leave and find Changsub” you admitted.
“Of course, the white horse is the fastest- but you must wait until the bandits have left our lands. There is talk of war breaking out if they do not leave” he added, looking concerned.
“War? When has a war started?”
“It hasn’t started yet, but it is about to. The kingdom to the west has been asking for our alliance but we have declined. We are unsure if the bandits are their doing, or if it is a coincidence. What you must take from my words is that it is unsafe to travel” he informed you.
“I must find a way to leave” you turned and began walking hastily, intent on making your way straight to the stable.
“They aren’t allowing anyone out of the gates!” Eunkwang followed.
“You have a wife to propose to, and leave me to my business!” you told him as you descended a set of stone stairs.
“I only tell you this because you will be arrested!” he added. At the bottom of the stairs, you were shocked to find your uncle.
“Y/n? Where are you off to?” he asked seeing you in a hurry.
“I must leave. I have to leave now before the fighting begins” you told him in a low voice.
“It has begun. There are soldiers on their way now. I cannot let you leave, it would be suicide” he spoke. You knew your uncle well and knew he would only tell you this if it was true and urgent. You nodded and felt deflated. There was nothing you could do at the moment.
Back at camp, Changsub arrived and headed straight for his tent, his face dark. Sungjae was there and sprang from the wooden chair pretending like he hadn’t been sitting there moments before.
“I will have dinner ready… where is y/n?” he asked looking around after Changsub had entered.
“Where she belongs” Changsub said stiffly. Sungjae looked confused.
“Is she not coming back yet?” he asked.
“She isn’t coming back at all”
“And why not?”
“She doesn’t want to” Changsub tried to say, but Sungjae was not buying it.
“You are selfish. I cannot stand the sight of you.” Sungjae spoke angrily taking a step towards Changsub.
“You are able to have someone close that loves you, and yet you ran from her?” he asked.
“If you are missing your wife, you can go home” Changsub said, feeling his own anger rising.
“You know I can’t!” Sungjae said, and Changsub knew he was right. He looked way from Sungjae, feeling guilt and frustration.
“We have done many stupid things with our time together, but this is stupidity I never thought I would see from you” Sungjae added.
“Tell the men we are packing up camp tomorrow” Changsub said as he walked to his bed and lay down.
“I refuse…”
“Tell the men!” Changsub yelled, ending the argument. Sungjae nodded and left with a clenched jaw.
Changsub lay on his back and stared angrily at the ceiling of his tent. He grabbed a pillow and threw it across the room in frustration. It hit a goblet of wine and caused it to fling across the room and spill. He watched as it clattered and came to rest in the corner of the tent that you tried to sleep the first night he had kidnapped you.
Turning away from that spot, Changsub did his best to push you from his mind and get some sleep. He decided the best thing to do would be to forget he had ever met you.
A week passed by while you were trapped at the palace. You heard the sound of battles being fought all around the high walls. You felt numb to the situation, and still only had one thing on the forefront of your mind.
You would spend all of your free time copying maps that you found lying around the library. When you had the first chance, you were going to make a run for it.
“I knew I would find you here” your uncle spoke as he walked slowly into the room.
“There is nowhere else to be in this palace, and with fighting all around us…” you shook your head.
“I haven’t seen you smile in days, my niece” he said walking over and glanced down at what you were doing.
“That road on that map doesn’t exist anymore” he corrected one of your mistakes.
“Thank you” you said in a small voice.
“I know you grow restless, but time heals everything” he offered his advice.
“Time only means I will have to search more” you admitted.
“You might not need to search as much as you think”
“If this war continues, I will be hardly young enough to travel anymore” you grumbled. Your uncle kissed your forehead.
“All I can offer you right now, dearest, is my love.”
“You would think love would be enough” you spoke ironically.
“It is, but our brains tend to disagree when faced with finer things in life” he concluded.
Luck was on your side that night. A cease to the fighting had been called for one hour to collect the dead. You knew this was your only chance. Gathering a small bag of maps and clothing from your room, you wished your cousin was there to say good bye.
You hastily walked to the courtyard that lead to a way out of the palace that wasn’t a main gate when you heard footsteps, you rounded a corner to hide when you bumped into someone.
“Eunkwang!” you said in surprise.
“Oh! Um… y/n? What brings you out this time of night?” he asked looking around nervously.
“I would like permission to borrow that horse once more” you asked in a hurry.
“Of course, but why now?” he asked.
“If not now, I will be forced to wait longer…” you thought you heard another voice and looked around.
“Is that…?” you saw a shadow move around the corner of the wall.
“Cousin?” you asked, as the shadow moved once more.
“I will keep your secret if you keep mine” Eunkwang said quickly as your cousin walked over. Her cheeks looked flushed, and you couldn’t help but smile.
“The kingdom will welcome this match, why hide?” you asked.
“How does that look for me? My men are fighting while I am wooing my future wife?” Eunkwang asked. You smiled and gave your cousin a small congratulatory hug.
“My blessings for the two of you, but I must leave. Don’t think me rude for not being here for the wedding” you turned as Eunkwang nodded.
Making your way to the stable, you checked around for guards. When there appeared to be none, probably helping to bury the dead, you walked right to the white horse and saddled him up. Mounting, you kicked hard as you galloped him out into the open lands, allowing the breeze to flow through your hair.
Your uncle watched from a high balcony as you left the palace, this time, on your own.
You rode right through the night until the sun crested over the horizon. Allowing the horse to rest and graze, you pulled out a map. You studied it and realized the best place to start would be at the last known campsite. Highly doubtful Changsub was still there, you located it on the map, and decided to head in that direction. It was a half a day’s ride, and you wanted to get started.
Arriving at the campsite, you weren’t surprised to see it completely deserted. There wasn’t any sign that anyone had been there. Looking around, you dropped to your knees and wept. There was no way to know where Changsub had headed next. Knowing him, it was probably far away.
A heavy wind blew and caused a few maps to roll out of your pack on the ground. You stood and chased after them before the wind took them too far. You were able to grab one map that had gotten caught on a low bush. You halfheartedly glanced down at it, and stopped chasing the other maps immediately.
Looking at the map, you realized exactly where you should head next. Running back to the horse, you wasted no time and headed in the direction of a town that you knew had all the answers you wanted.
You rode for the next two days, only stopping when the horse was too winded to carry on. You neither ate, drank, nor slept.
Arriving at the front of the town, the familiar market place stretched in front of you. You dismounted the horse and paid to have it held up at a stable for rest. You had begun to get a headache but pressed on.
Walking down a side street, you saw the same building looming in front of you. Feeling dizzy, you walked through the front doors and collapsed. You couldn’t make out the faces around you, but the last words you remember yourself saying were to find Nura, and you hoped she was around.
You woke and sat up in an unfamiliar bed. Looking around, the room you were in was empty. The window was open and a light breeze flowed into the room. It was refreshing, and as you stood to leave, the door opened.
“Finally awake, I see” Nura said as she entered the room. She held a jug of water out for you which you took graciously and drained before speaking.
“Where am I? How long have I been asleep?” you sked.
“You are in the top room of the restaurant. Calm down. You have been asleep for nearly half a day”
“Thank you for allowing me to rest, but I must see Ilhoon”
“He is out in town. I will send him to you tomorrow. He won’t return until late.” She explained as she took a seat next to you on the bed.
“I would bet my life that you know just as much information as Ilhoon does. You know why I am here” you asked sternly.
“I think you would’ve been happy being back with your family” she stood up from the bed and headed for the door. It appeared that she was not going to tell you anything.
“You know where he is. Don’t fool me!” you shouted and went to stand up, as she reached the door. Noticing she had a key in her hand, you sprang to the door. She closed it right as you reached it and you heard the lock click as she spoke to you through the wood.
“This is for your own good!” she said, and you fell against the door in frustration. You found yourself once again to be a prisoner.
Ilhoon was indeed in town. He was enjoying himself, wandering down the street, no real destination in mind. He walked in a straight line, allowing people to walk around him as his path was unmoving.
“There are my friends!” he said as he spotted Sungjae and Changsub walking down the street in his direction.
“Trying to avoid me?” Ilhoon asked as he fell into step with the two of them.
“Avoiding you would be impossible. I have learned that years ago” Changsub said.
“What brings you to this part of the world?” Ilhoon asked, making light conversation.
“Just stocking up on supplies and gathering more men. We are leaving tomorrow” Changsub continued.
“Where is y/n?” Ilhoon asked, getting right to the point. Changsub didn’t answer.
“Oh, I see. Back with her family? Wonderful. But… why aren’t you with her?” Ilhoon pried. Again Changsub didn’t answer, but his anger was starting to rise. Sungjae tried making not so subtle gestures behind Changsub’s back, telling Ilhoon to not mention you.
“What if I had information? I could name…” Ilhoon was cut short when Changsub grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against a wall roughly.
“If you think you can toy with me, then try it” Changsub’s voice was dangerously low. Ilhoon grabbed the arms that held his throat as he struggled for breath.
“Honestly! I have word where she is!” Ilhoon spoke. Changsub didn’t quite believe him but relinquished his grip slightly.
“She is here! She came to town and collapsed!” Ilhoon spoke as Changsub released him and watched him fall to the floor.
“I heard she rode for two days straight to get here and look for you” Ilhoon massaged his neck as he stood up.
Changsub felt frustrated with himself. He should’ve known you would do something as foolish as this.
“Take me to her! But if what you say is false, I will hang your head over your front door to let everyone know your lies have finally been ended.” Changsub drew his sword and pointed it at Ilhoon, who had his usual carefree smile back on his face as if nothing had happened.
Back at his house however, things were not going smoothly. Nura was returning with some food, thinking you must be asleep with the room being so quiet. She opened the door and immediately dropped the tray of food she had been holding. You held up a knife to her throat.
“Make a move and I will kill you.” you said pressing the knife in harder. She made a motion to turn around and face you, when you dug the point of the knife in her neck and drew blood. She realized that you were quite serious. She hadn’t expected this from you.
“I am leaving. You are not to alert anyone or have me followed”
“If you would listen…” he said, raising her hands. Just then, you heard voices downstairs that sounded like Ilhoon returning. Realizing our only exit was cut off, you ran to the window and looked out. Seeing a fruit cart coming this way, you figured this was your only option. You stood up on the window sill and prepared to jump when you heard Nura shout.
“She’s up here!” you heard running as the door flew open. You didn’t look back, but jumped out of the window and onto the food cart. The stun of landing only stopped you momentarily. You jumped off the cart, hearing angry yells from the man rolling the cart, and heading right for the stable.
You grabbed your horse and mounted heading off in a random direction. You wanted to get as far away from this town as possible. It had gotten you nowhere and nearly gotten you into more trouble, being captive by Ilhoon. Who knows what would’ve happened to you?
“Did she just jump out the window?” Sungjae asked as everyone in the room was momentarily frozen. Changsub ran to the window and watched as you ran off towards the stable not looking back.
“I can see why Changsub loves a woman like her” Ilhoon asked as he checked Nura’s neck carefully.
“Any woman willing to jump out of a window to get away from you is definitely worth keeping” she said sarcastically.
Changsub didn’t say anything but turned away from the window and pushed past Ilhoon and Sungjae out the door.
He headed straight for the stable and took his own horse. He didn’t take the time to bother saddling up. His only goal was to follow your hoof prints and catch up with you as quickly as possible.
You cried frustrated tears as you rode in the direction of your old home. Eunkwang was correct when he told you this was the horse you should take; he could out run any other horse in the land.
Stopping only briefly to nap, check a map, and allow your horse to graze or drink, you were pushing on until you reached your destination.
Six days of difficult terrain and nonstop riding, you found your old home within sight. You sighed and stopped the horse, allowing him to drink as you lay down on the grass. You hadn’t wondered why you headed in this direction until now. It felt nice being in a familiar place.
“By Zeus, I am tired” you shook your head and spoke to your horse.
You sat up and took a sip of water from a pouch that you carried. Draining it, you stood and gazed around. The landscape was just how you remembered it. Mounting the horse, you walked him slowly in the direction of the old palace, allowing him to graze along the way.
Changsub had lost your tracks. Passing through a thick patch of trees meant your prints had disappeared. He was never a good tracker when it came to woods. He walked his horse into a clearing and sat down. Sighing, he looked around.
Taking out a map, to make sure he was heading the right way, Changsub reasoned there was only one motive for you to head in this direction.
“Still on the right track.” He spoke out loud to his horse.
“I thought we would’ve caught up with her by now?” he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked over the map absentmindedly.
“Must be stubborn and riding through the night. Foolish girl” Changsub spoke out loud once more but lowered his voice. The sun was beginning to sink low and he shook his head. There was no use trying to find his way out of the woods that night.
Little did he know, it would’ve been in your best interest had he pushed on and found you.
You were woken up roughly when a man grabbed you around the neck.
“What are you doing here, pretty thing?” he asked as you struggled.
“Cut that out!” he said pointing a sword at you. You spat on him and he threw you to the ground. His men grabbed your arms as you struggled to break free. They walked you next to the horse who was struggling being held roughly by a man. As you got close enough, you stopped and used the leverage of the men carrying you to kick across the head of the man holding the horse.
You watched as the horse pulled himself free when this man seemed dazed and ran off in the direction you had been traveling from.
You laughed and got a good punch across the nose for it.
“Keep her still!” the man who had first grabbed you yelled at the men who were supposed to be restraining you.
Arriving back at your old palace that once belonged to your uncle, you were carried through the front gates and straight to your uncle’s old greeting hall. You were thrown roughly to the ground. A tall man with dark eyes stood over you. He grabbed you by your hair and looked at your face. You spat on him and felt a hard pain in the side of your head where he had then thrown you roughly to the floor.
“Shall we give her to the men?” you heard someone ask from behind you.
“She will put up to much of a fight. To the dungeon with her until she starves for a few days. She will be do anything for food when the time comes” this man said as you were roughly grabbed once more and taken out of the room. You had to stop yourself from shouting at this man that he was not worthy enough to sit where your uncle had once sat.
The next morning, Changsub was still heading in the same direction when he saw a white horse grazing on grass a few paces away. He stopped his horse and dismounted. Wandering over to the white horse, he neared it and grabbed the reins hanging loosely from its bridle. Looking around, he was worried when he saw no rider in sight.
“You can’t be the same white horse” he spoke out loud as he reached for the pack tied to the saddle. Opening it, his heart raced when he saw women’s clothing packed inside.
“How I wish you could speak” he told the white horse as he mounted his horse once more and headed in the same direction he had been heading a moment before.
In the dungeons, you were being teased by the guards that were watching over you. They mocked you with the ideas of what they would do to you when you were starving for food. You did your best to drown them out.
At this time, Changsub had reached the spot where your white horse’s footprints had stopped. He traced the outline of a footprint that was too large for you to make. Gazing around he saw the sand covered with more footprints than he liked. He shook his head and gazed at the palace that wasn’t too far off in the distance. He mounted is horse and headed closer, formulating a plan as he went.
You observed the guards and noticed they changed every two hours. With night falling, more guards were needed on the walls, so only one was left to stand in front of your cell. You figured now was the only chance you would get.
Quietly, you removed a clip that had been holding your hair up. Scraping it against the stone walls, you sharpened it into a dull point as quickly as you could. You stopped and froze when the guard addressed you.
“My lord would like to dine with you.” a voice spoke as the gate to your cell was unlocked.
“Tell him I am not hungry” you jested and moved away from this man who had been sent to get you.
“I’ll show you what hungry is; with that attitude I’ll knock all your teeth out and you won’t be able to eat a thing”
Out of your anger, you balled your fist and sent it shooting into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled backwards out of surprise and held his belly. His face hardened and he made a move to you, when his comrade stopped him.
“You better get her to Thanasis. He won’t like to be kept waiting” he said which made the guard sent to fetch you shoot him a dirty look before grabbing you and holding his sword to your throat.
He walked you out of the cell and headed for the courtyard. You glanced around ready to run for it, but paused when you saw the grounds swarming with armed men. If you tried to run, they would be on you in a heartbeat.
You were lead through the welcoming hall and into the banquet hall. Many festivals and celebrations had been held here in your past.
Sitting at a long table was the same tall man from before that you learned must be Thanasis. The table was stacked with food and drink, but you dared no touch any of it.
You were placed in a seat at the other end of the table, and waited silently to be addressed.
“Eat. It isn’t poisoned” Thanasis told you. You did not respond. He took a large bite of meat and followed it with a large swing of wine.
“Try the wine.” He offered, his voice getting lower.
“No” you spoke.
“Haven’t starved in the dungeons long enough have you?” he asked, thinking he was doing you a favor.
“I have hardly been there a day” you spoke defiantly. He chuckled.
“More time down there can be arranged.” He said and waved his guard over. He motioned for you to stand and grabbed your bottom as you did so. Without thinking, you grabbed a full water jug and shattered it across his skull. He stumbled back dazed. Thanasis laughed.
“You have bravery in you. Don’t worry, we can squash that out of you” he waved more guards over as they grabbed your arms and lead you out.
Once back in your cell, you were hoping the locks were still the old ones that were put in the palace when it was built. If they were old enough, you were hoping you could jam the make shift key you had created with your hair clip and open the lock.
Shortly, you had your opportunity to test it out.
The guard watching you walked to a basin of water and took a drink, he then walked to the table where his food sat. With his back to you, he leaned over and began picking through the food. You walked to the gate and stuck your hair clip in the lock and jiggled as it popped open. You slammed it closed as the guard turned around and pocked his sword at you.
“Away from that door, girl” he said through a mouthful of food. You backed to the edge of the cell and sat down.
Changsub was edging along the outside of the wall in the shadows. He located a small kitchen door that opened frequently when a cook exited to grab some wood stacked along the outside. He waited behind where the door would open and drew his sword.
He waited for nearly an hour when the door finally opened. He flung it open and grabbed the person that had exited, and pushed them inside before himself. The kitchen staff froze when they saw that Changsub had their cook by the throat.
“Anyone leaves this room to follow me, and I kill him” he spoke his voice low and menacing. They all looked frightened. Taking the man still with the sword at this throat, Changsub walked to the door of the kitchen and exited. He threw the man back in the room and faced them.
“I am setting fire to this room, so if you can get out by that door, do it now” he told them as he closed the wooden door that lead to a courtyard. Reaching for a torch that wasn’t too far, he laid it against the dry wood of the old kitchen door and watched as it easily caught flame.
Changsub backed away to hide as he saw the wooden walls of the kitchen catch fire quickly. Guards were already sounding the alarm as the flames grew higher. Changsub had no idea where you might be, but he dreaded the idea of finding you in the bedchamber of whoever was ruling here.
Down in the dungeons, your guard was called away.
“There is a fire! We are all needed to help put it out!” one guard said to another as your cell was left unwatched. Acting quickly, you unlocked your cell and waited, just in case someone returned. When they didn’t, you exited and headed up towards the main courtyard, making sure to travel slowly and carefully.
You hid in the shadows as a group of men passed you. They were heading in the direction of the kitchens where you saw smoke rising into the night sky.
Rounding a corner, you hid behind a column, listening for anyone passing by.
You were immobilized when you felt a hand cover your mouth from behind. It released you as you’re turned slowly, ready to be heralded back to the cells.
“Changsub?” you sked out of surprise and shock.
“By the gods, what are you doing here?” you asked pulling him in for a hug.
“I’m sneaking in. what are you doing here?” he asked, pulling you away from the courtyard, as more men passed by.
“I’m sneaking out” you admitted.
“You are foolish! How did you even end up here in the first place?” he asked grabbing you by your wrist and pulling you along an empty hallway.
“I didn’t do it on purpose! You have a lot of nerve calling me foolish! Leaving me like…”
“We don’t have time to argue!” Changsub said. He grabbed you around your waist and pulled you in for a deep kiss, shutting up your arguments completely.
“Is there any other way out of the palace?” he asked, pulling you around a corner, hiding himself and you.
“Through the armory” you told him.
“Lead the way, princess” he said. You and he ran along another hallway and into the corridor that lead to the armory. He stopped and listened, realizing there didn’t seem to be anyone at this part of the palace.
Entering the armory, there were two men sitting here.
“Say a word and your dead men” Changsub said raising his sword as you and he ran to the small door and opened it. The fresh air greeted you as you and he continued to run.
His horse was waiting around the front of the palace, and you and he mounted the horse hastily and ran off before word could get out that you had escaped.
Once out of range of being seen by the palace Changsub slowed the horse and dismounted. He held his hand out for you to be helped off, but you ignored him.
“How dare you just show up!” you started yelling at him as soon as your feet hit the ground.
“How dare you run off ad leave me!” you walked towards him as he backed up. Reaching him, you slapped him hard across the face.
“How dare I? How dare you not tell me you were promised to someone else!” he retorted.
“I had no idea! If you would stop being irrational and stubborn for two seconds and hear me out!” you said advancing towards him. His face had broken into a smirk, which made your anger start to dwindle, but you tried to not let it show.
“You didn’t even think of letting me explain! You- you just left!” you said, losing steam as Changsub closed the distance between the two of you.
“I told you not to listen to my aunt. I bet anything she was the one spreading lies” your eyes began to fill with tears as Changsub reached out and pulled you close before you could react and step away.
“I’m sorry.” He said.
“Will you allow me to explain now?” he asked cupping the side of your face.
“No!” you said and wrapped your arms around him, pulling him in for a kiss that you had been dying to share for weeks since he had left you.
“What were you thinking trying to take your palace back by yourself? Did you not think of what could’ve happened to you?” he asked breaking the kiss and looking annoyed once more.
“I wasn’t trying to take it back! I got caught napping!” you explained.
“How foolish of you to nap when there are men around!” he lectured you while he lead you back to his horse.
“Where are we going?” you asked.
“If you want your palace back, you need men to do that. Not just some stubborn princess who is mildly angered” Changsub explained as he allowed you to mount the horse and get on behind you.
“Mildly angered?” you spoke, trying your best to sound annoyed, but the smile on your face betrayed you.
“I have never found myself angrier with anyone on my life” you shook your head.
“I think you speak true, my face feels like I got kicked by a horse” Changsub joked, reaching up and touching his cheek where you had slapped him.
“Why did you run from Ilhoon’s?” he asked as he got his horse into a trot heading for camp.
“How did you know?”
“I was there.” He said.
“You were in town?”
“I was in the room! What kind of thoughtless person decides that is their only escape?” he teased.
“I thought I was going to be Ilhoon’s prisoner, yet he was trying to help me” you shook your head.
“Annoyed with yourself? Now you know how I feel being around you all the time.” Changsub said. You slapped his shoulder playfully, as he complained more about his face hurting and how you continued to abuse him.

Notes