Cowardly Warrior | Taehyung ✔

Power

Jimin sighs. "You underestimate your power. You need to know how powerful The Warrior is to other people."

I shake my head. "I'm nobody."

"You truly don't even know how famous you are in the other kingdoms." Taehyung shakes his head. "She truly doesn't know her impact."

"That's it!" Jimin's eyes shined. "We need to let her know how important she is to other people."

Jimin's father, Sungo, gives me a mask to place on my face and I wear my peasant clothes. They lead me outside, and am surprised by what I see.

"Is that The Warrior? I knew he'd come!" People cheer as I walk outside.

"It's the Cowardly Warrior!" Someone else points out.

"No, it's The Courageous Warrior," Taehyung corrects him.

I smile, graciously.

A little girl walks over to me.

"Will you help us, Warrior?" She asks.

I bend down to her height.

I smile. "Of course I will."

"Can I be just like you when your older?" She asks.

I nod. "Of course you can be. You can be braver, stronger, and faster than I'll ever be. You can be anything you want."

A man, who appears to be her father, shakes his head. "Don't feed her dreams or high expectations. She's just a little girl."

I cross my arms. "Little girls can do great things."

He snorts. "But they can't be warriors. They can't defeat hundreds of men like you can."

I raise my brow. "You would be surprised by what women are capable of when people believe in them."

The man walks away with his daughter and the little girl waves at me. I wave back.

Jimin's father, Sungo, grabs my arm and whispers, "They will never love you as a woman."

I roll my eyes. "Your daughter Erhi is a magnificent fighter and can beat tons of men."

Sungo says in a low voice, "But she was never a symbol of freedom. She just pretended to claim loyalty to your kingdom as a bodyguard so she can protect my kingdom."

He continues. "When these people find out who you are, it will crush their spirits."

"I am just a fraud that's deceived everyone," I realized.

Even the poor people's symbol of hope was just a wealthy princess pretending to be one of them.

This was a battle of oppressed against oppressors. Poor against rich. Good against Evil.

And I was the Evil.

***

We're forced to be returned to the cell.

"Taehyung, what's your opinion on all this?" I sit on the ground.

"What your kingdom has done has brought great sufferings to my kingdom. Even being engaged to Chinua, it was to save my people. But if you don't think it's a good idea, I trust you. No more secrets. No more betrayal. If you want to protect your kingdom, I am with you."

I'm flustered by his confession. "It's just-Erden's has made so many points. But locking us in this cell, trying to convince me to be The Warrior for their cause- it just doesn't feel right."

"Amira, is that you?" A somewhat familiar voice calls out.

I look at a cell next to us. It's Qara, the servant I saved years ago.