"They threw that bastard into prison as I instructed, yes?" The Crown Prince adjusted his sleeves as his party passed the gates of the camp and began their hunt for the witch.
"Yes, they did. But don't you think he should have gotten medical treatment before he went in there? His wounds may fester." Songmin asked with a hint of disgust.
"It is hardly a punishment if he gets treated, is it?"
Songmin only nodded with a face that said 'you've got a point' before turning back around. "Ugh, you guys are insufferable," Minjoo sighed as he snapped open an embroidered fan and waved at his face. Sensing an air of unpleasantness around their most amicable member, the group gave Minjoo apprehensive glances before quieting down for the remainder of their journey. It was not easy to upset Minjoo, and even the Prince tried to avoid getting on the seamster's bad side .
~~~~~
There seemed to be a change in the forest as the party approached the location of the witch's cave. The fog became so thick they could barely see each other, and the chirping of insects decreased until it seemed the forest had been muted. "There it is." Chang pointed into the fog, where a dim green light grew brighter by the second.
"Alright, I'll continue alone from here," the Crown Prince announced as he dismounted and passed the reins to Jaeon. The prince walked into the fog alone, taking only a few steps before entering the cave emitting the green light. The prince's pale skin and black hair took on an eerie cast as he journeyed deeper, following the distant sound of bells and incense.
"What are you here for, Prince?" a raspy female voice bounced around the cave walls, and a face to match appeared as the prince rounded one final corner. A white haired woman dressed entirely in red sat alone in a stone room full of dried flowers and joy bringing talisman.
"I have heard you can show one's future. The happiness of their future life, in vivid detail." The Crown Prince sat himself before the woman, fanning his dark purple garb out around him.
"Ah..." the woman nodded, pouring a cup of tea from a kettle that seemed to materialize from nowhere. "The key to your future joy, you have expectations already, don't you?"
"I have the answer, you are just for confirmation," the prince replied as he studied the steaming cup before him.
"I will ask you to make a choice, once you discover the origin of your future joy. The choice you make now will not affect the future, only your actions after learning the truth will, but it may influence those future actions." The woman explained as she motioned for the prince to drink.
"I very much so doubt that. I never question the choices I make," he stated before downing the tea in one go. The world began to blur and shift as the white haired woman said,
"I assume you are familiar with the phrase 'the one with which I walk the moonlit path,' are you not?"
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He Walks Alone in the Moonlight
العاطفيةThe current king is unsatisfied with his control. He loathes the fact that the people revere the witches' powers over his own. He openly breaks the old king's decree and conspires with a witch rumored to drink human blood. Strange happenings have pe...
