The Rebellion (Preview)

Chapter 5 -Trade

I slept with Haneul.

Only in the literal sense.

"I can leave you with the wolves," he had said after we left the training center. "But you're better off with me."

I curled my lip at him. "So my choice is between the pack of wolves or their leader?"

"If you're going to be amongst the wolves, sweetheart, you might as well be on the leader's side."

I couldn't argue with him. And although the look in his eyes was dangerous, it wasn't murderous, so I took my chances.

His home was large but empty. A single mat was on the floor, a collection of swords and staves in the corner. His laundry was scattered in the corners of the room, crumpled pieces of paper decorating the floor along with his dirty clothing.

"Welcome home," he said. 

I wrapped my arms around myself from the sudden thought of my family home occupied by the emperor's guards.

Saejun's guards.

How could you take everything, Saejun? When did you start to hate me that much...?

"What's with the look?" Haneul asked. "My place doesn't smell that bad."

I shook my head at him, shoving down any emotion he might see as weakness.

"Master?" a voice asked outside the hut.

Haneul opened the door, and a man holding a bed mat walked in. His copper skin and black hair were so pure that they glowed in the darkness. He looked to be the same age as Kiwan - around twenty, perhaps - but he showed no fragility in his physique despite his youth.

His eyes met mine. His jaw tightened as his eyes narrowed, the look in his eyes anything but welcoming.

"Enough staring, Intak," Haneul said, taking the bed mat from him. "She's not that easily intimidated."

Haneul smirked as he rolled the bed out on the ground.

"At least, she pretends not to be," he muttered in my direction.

"Does the boss know?" Intak asked, still staring at me.

Haneul hummed.

"And he's okay with it?"

"That's between me and him," Haneul replied.  "You've done your job. Get out of my house."

The man looked me over one last time, then swung the door open and left us both behind without another word. The air chilled.

"Don't worry about him," Haneul said. "He's edgy, but harmless. The opposite of you."

"What?" I asked.

"Sleep," he commanded, pointing to the new mat on the ground. He wrapped a blanket around me, turning my shoulders to face him. "You'll need all the rest you can get for tomorrow. I can promise you that."

He fell asleep in an instant, but I didn't have the same luck. All I could do was imagine Kiwan alone, tortured by the guards and other prisoners in Saejun's hands. The emperor didn't execute right away. There were three months between an arrest and an execution. He took his time, slowly making murderers suffer until they were begging for death on the day of their execution. 

Someday... I would return the favor.

***

"We need to put you to work," Haneul said the next morning as he tied his sword onto his hip.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. It was something I had been wondering since he agreed to bring me to the Rebellion.