The Last Dahlia

023

"Do you think they knew who you were all along?" Yuehwa asked.

Shoya shook his head. "If they were certain then she wouldn't have come down. They must have gotten wind of a rumour and decided that it was better to take the necessary precautions. If I wasn't who they thought I was, then it would have been much ado about nothing and a whole lot of wasted effort, but if I was, then they would be removing a thorn from their sides."

"This is ridiculous!" Yuehwa huffed. "They sacrificed so many lives just to chase down a rumour?" She recalled the conversation that had taken place and a look of alarm appeared across her face. "But by confronting her like that, wouldn't that just put you out in the open? If you continued being only the White Scorpion then perhaps the queen might have believed that the rumour was not true after all."

"Remember when I asked you whether or not you would support my decision no matter what that should be?" Shoya said, looking straight into Yuehwa's eyes. "And then I said that you might regret it one day." Yuehwa held her breath, feeling as if time had suddenly slowed down in that moment. "If by chance it had been someone else who had come down here, if the chief astrologer had been lying and I had been wrong about everything, then perhaps I would have been able to walk away and continue living my life as the White Scorpion as if none of this had ever happened. But from the moment the queen showed up in front of us, that option was no longer viable."

He took the sword out from its sheath, holding it up to the small window so the light from outside struck the crystal hilt, refracting in all directions. "Before I became the White Scorpion, I was Hwang Minjun, firstborn son of the king and rightful heir to the throne," he said quietly, "and that is my destiny."

"We write our own destinies," Yuehwa replied, taking hold of his hand. Although he appeared calm, she could sense the pain that was radiating from within. "But if this is the path that you must take, then I will walk this path with you."

Wordlessly, Shoya pulled her into his arms, letting everything between them go unsaid. As he buried his head against her shoulder, he mouthed just two words:

"I'm sorry."

#

Later that night, the sounds of hooves pounding the dirt could be heard throughout the capital city of Feng as the guards embarked on a city-wide search for two missing convicts who had escaped from the prison—but it was too late. The two escapees were already miles away from the capital, sitting in a small isolated inn within the borders of Gi.

Yuehwa was still dressed like a man, although she had swapped her dirty clothes for a fresh set that she bought off the innkeeper. She stared at a table full of delicious food that she couldn't wait to stuff into her own stomach. Having an adventure in prison was all well and good, but there was nothing there besides stale bread that was practically inedible. She took a deep breath to inhale the heavenly aromas of all the dishes, sighing in happiness.

She picked up her chopsticks and began tucking in, hands moving so quickly from dish to dish that Ember was getting a little cross-eyed just watching her. She had tried every single dish on the table before she realised that Shoya hadn't touched a single thing, and was merely sitting across the table watching her with a slight twinkle in his eye.

"Aren't you hungry? This is really good." She pointed at the plate of roast chicken. "And this too." The braised mushrooms and spinach.

Shaking his head, Shoya said, "Go ahead. I'll have whatever's left."

Nothing will be left, my friend, Ember thought sadly. Clearly Shoya still didn't know Yuehwa well enough.

Not long after the queen had left the prison, Shoya and Yuehwa swiftly picked the locks to the cell door and made their escape. Along the way they encountered a handful of guards, all of whom were easily dispatched with some darts that were laced with enough sleeping draught to knock a cow out for at least three days. Although the security around the prison had been increased to prevent a situation like this, it still wasn't enough to pose a challenge to the two seasoned assassins.