The Legend of Nakrang

Liar

Rays of morning sun shone into her eyes, forcing tightly-shut lids to crack open by a fraction.

It was bright, jarringly so.

So much so that her eyes squeezed shut almost instantaneously as she winced from discomfort.

Hmm...did Hyojin forget to draw the silk screens over the windows..?

That thought randomly crossed the princess' sleep-laden mind, before the persistent cries of seagulls crept into earshot.

Hmmm. That was annoying.

Seagulls..?

Her eyes flew open this time, as if sensing an emergency.

Sitting up straight in bed, the soreness that instantaneously spread through her back led the princess to bite back a groan.

Exhaling through parted lips, the princess pressed a palm to her lower back, rubbing to ease the ache.

Yejin felt embarrassed for inwardly cursing the discomfort; it reeked of elitism and self-entitlement, but the princess' back had never known the feeling of sleeping on wooden boards since the day she was born.

So it wasn't a dream after all, she realized wistfully.

Her current situation was as real as it could be.

A frantic glance to the side led to a sigh of relief, as she laid eyes upon Hyun Bin's sleeping form on the same bed.

Eyes softening, the princess gingerly reached out to caress the prince's stubbled cheek with her fingertips.

No matter what, at the very least, Hyun Bin was real as well.

She contemplated waking him up, just so that she could seek some semblance of reassurance from his touch and his voice. But it didn't take a moment before Yejin decided against it - Hyun Bin deserved the respite from reality.

Running the back of her hand over his cheek, Yejin quietly admired his features.

Even in slumber, the same dignity which he always wore shone through the beauty of his features.

If anything, Hyun Bin should be equally distressed about their situation.

The crown prince hadn't uttered a word lamenting the hardship that awaited, but Yejin knew it couldn't be easy for him. Not when he was also as accustomed to the lap of luxury as she was.

He might have experience on the battlefield, and was no stranger to spending prolonged periods of time away from the comforts of the imperial palace.

But still, he was the Crown Prince of Goguryeo.

This time round, stuck with no signs of potential escape in Dong Okjeo, Yejin had no clue as to what she should expect.

They didn't have a single soldier with them. Everyone could be dead for all they knew - there were no experts to help with navigation through the forests and mountains.

There was no one to help with reading the stars for direction.

There was no royal advisor to advise on the next logical step to take in this situation.

They had neither a horse, nor any other means of transport either.

There were no writing materials, such as bamboo slips, brush and ink.

Of course, even if Yejin was capable of writing a letter to seek help, there was no one around who could help deliver it to Goguryeo.

On top of that, survival remained a primary concern.