The morning started with whispers being passed around about the missing princess. It became more concerning to them when they found out the amount of guards who passed away and guests who were injured that night.
"I heard the king took shed for himself."
"The queen did all the work, and the princesses."
"One of the guests said they saw Princess Eunji helping the queen, but I'm not sure about the king."
"Did the king leave his princesses to do everything?"
"I think the king killed some men, though."
"Nah, he's doing that just for his daughter."
Eunji raised the hood of her cloak to hid herself from the public. She tightly held on the fabric as she prepared her ears for more insults towards the royal family. She pursed her lips, trying so hard not to interfere any of the whispering or false information.
Of course, what her father did was unforgivable because he let her mother danger herself alone to help the guests. However, there's a small part of her hated it when people talk bad about him.
It cannot be prevented, though.
As she walked past the neighborhood, she spotted Haknyeon and a few men around the area who were searching for the missing princess as well. She quickly left the place not to get caught. All the royal family members had to stay in the castle, along with the injured guests but Eunji managed to sneak out from Eunkyung's secret door.
Yes, she knew about it without anyone knowing. Not even Eunkyung. With the help of her dark cloak, she left the castle early in the morning and started to search for her sister. She was sure her family was going crazy right now, but she cared less.
The road was empty because of the order not to leave home. Eunji took a left turn and spotted a huge house with a bar in front of it. She hurried there and knocked on the door.
The door opened, revealing a man with a thin line of moustache and beard.
"How can I help you?"
"I'm here to meet Arin." she pulled her hood a little to the back for him to recognised her – she hoped. "I'm Eunji, Eunkyung's sister."
"Welcome in, Her Royal Highness." the man opened the door wider. She lightly bowed and went in, immediately meeting a serious Felix who was interrogating a trembling Arin on the couch. The princess walked up to them and sat next to him.
Felix sent her a disapproval look, signalling that she wouldn't talk.
Eunji sighed at the wrapped up girl. She was just found last night around the same time Eunkyung was kidnapped. Felix and a few horsemen found her at the entrance of the wood, blindfolded, hands tied up at the back and crying in the chilly night. She was still wearing the school uniform she had seven days ago.
It took seven days to find her. Not really find, she appeared out of nowhere.
"Did you recognise the voice?" Eunji softly asked. The younger girl shakily shook her head.
"Did you know where you were?"
Again, she shook her head while looking down at the carpet. Felix wondered what had happened until she couldn't speak a word and didn't move a budge. One thing for sure, the girl wouldn't answer any of his questions but Eunji's.
The freckled guy stood up, "I'm going to visit Seungmin."
Eunji nodded, "Be careful."
When he left, Arin broke into cries. Her mother rushed to her side and hugged her tightly, stroking her arms and whispered a few encouragement words. Eunji discreetly pursed her lips, trying not to give the same reaction. The thing that happened to Arin, is now happening to her own sister.
It became worse when she remembered how Eunhee and Eunkyung fought a few days before. When the news of their youngest siblings was caught reached her ears, she isolated herself and didn't come out even until Eunji left the castle. Even when Minho tried talking to her, she shut the door in front of his face. She was upset.
"I'm sorry, Her Royal Highness." the mother croaked out. "Can you give her some times? We will make sure to give you a call when she's calmed down."
"Of course, madam. Take your time." she got up and bowed, "I really hope I can get some information, even a drizzle. I'll take my leave now."
She left the house in disappointment.
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"Is she there?"
Little Seungmin asked excitedly as he jumped off the car. The kids in the village approached him and Felix with the intention of befriending them, but Seungmin ignored them as he was finding a certain girl he'd known awhile ago.
Felix greeted the other kids. He let them felt the fabric of the uniform he was wearing before spotting Seungmin staring off somewhere.
To be precise, to the princess who was playing the water with her best friend at the fountain.
"Eunkyung... where is she?"
"Let's get you treated first, this is a deep cut." Felix didn't bother to reply and helped him get into the cottage. Seungmin felt a bit relief when seeing the girl was still safe, but not her dying friend and the small unknown guy who had sneaked into the house, dropping some liquid into the unconscious' mouth.
"She was safe, but where is she?"
Little Seungmin looked around the cottage. After a few months he finally got the permission to go to the village but the princess was nowhere to be seen. The cottage was empty, it was locked. It seems like the people who used to live there simply vanished.
He felt his heart dropping.
Did the princess leave?
Two days later he found out the princess had moved to the castle. He couldn't be more happy. Seungmin tried to befriend her but she's always out to the hill to play with her other friends. Because of the restrictions his parents made, he couldn't join them.
But he genuinely wanted to know the princess better.
"She's enrolling here." Felix nudged him.
"Where?" The fifteen year old Seungmin peeked from behind the locker. Felix pointed using his lips towards the entrance, where the students made a way for the new figure to walk. She shyly smiled at them which made Seungmin's confidence to greet her boost, but not when she entered with a very familiar guy next to her.
"Why is Jisung still with her?"
His eyes abruptly shot open with a loud gasp.
All he could see was a white ceiling and he felt a sweat rolling down his temples. His breathing was rather heavy.
Was it... was it all a... dream...?
"Eunkyung," as soon as her name rolled out his tongue, Seungmin quickly got up but groaned when a sharp pain hit his abdomen. He clutched the pain area and fell back on the bad with his eyes shut tightly while waiting for the pain to endure.
It wasn't a dream...
This time the stomach was not the only thing that hurts, but also the chest. Slowly, his mind registered what happened last night. He could hear the metal swords clashing onto each other, the screams, the princess' cries for help, the evil laughter and his own scream last night.
It was painful.
It hurts him more when he got himself injured badly. He couldn't move anywhere. He couldn't go anywhere to find the princess soon. He will have to lay on the bed without doing anything to find the girl that he's been protecting for years. The thought of losing her again scared him. It's like losing his own life.
He wanted to search for her.
Seungmin had no choice but to properly lay on the bed. He was so into his thoughts that he didn't realise a few tears escaped his teary eyes.
I lost her again.
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The faint sound of wood stepping woke her up.
Her head was heavy, as if she just got knocked out with a hard rock being hit at the back of her head. Her vision blurred. She couldn't see anything properly unless if she kept her eyes open but because of the dizziness, she failed to do so.
She wanted to move her hand to massage the temple but realised her movements were restricted. Her hands were tied at the back on the pole she was leaning. She weakly moved her head to look around.
The room she was in was an empty space. There's no light coming in, no windows, no fan that could cool her off, only her on the floor and two chairs near the door. That's when she remembered what happened last night.
Immediately, she tugged on her wrist to feel the rope was tied tightly, hurting her skin. She moved her legs under her gown while hoping to feel something against the wooden floor but there was nothing.
No way...
"Searching for this?"
A very, very familiar voice greeted her. Her head shot up to see Jisung leaning on the door while twirling a blade around his finger. This made her stomach churn with mixed emotions. The night before she was surrounded by a group of bulky men and just by thinking about it terrified her, she remembered one of them injected her with a liquid at her neck and not long after, she fell unconscious. And now, Jisung had possibly stole the blade that she kept under her gown?
She felt extremely humiliated.
Jisung stepped in. He whistled a rhythm while still playing with the blade in his hand. His lips curled up into a sinister smile when the princess gave her a warning look. He sighed dreamily before putting one foot on her gown.
And another.
He crouched down to meet her level, "What's with that look, Eun? You realise you cannot do anything now hm?"
Eunkyung moved her head to the side to stop him from touching her face. Jisung looked stunned for a moment before grabbing her chin harshly and made her face him, "Look at me when I'm speaking, Eun. I thought a princess should know that." he said with a sickening smirk plastered on his face.
"Fucking let me go."
"You hear something?" he chuckled as he brought the blade near her cheek, "Your... Highness, Princess Min Eunkyung," he sighed, "You seem to enjoy last night's celebration with that guy. Have you feel no shame?"
"What? Is it wrong for me now?" she scoffed but then whimpered when Jisung squeezed her cheeks more with his one hand.
"Wrong. So, so wrong. Have you forgotten how you should be spending your birthday, our birthday each year?" he tilted his head to the side while trailing the tip of the blade down her skin. The princess shivered at the metal pressing lightly on her skin. One wrong word, Jisung could hurt her in seconds.
"You were not there too."
"I am not invited."
"You disappeared days before that."
"Every year I wait for an official invitation from the castle, but it never happened."
"You took Arin with you–" she was cut off with her own hissing when the guy put pressure of the blade on her exposed collarbone. The male just watched the pain area without emotions displayed.
"Guess I'm never enough for you, and your family."
"Han–" she stopped when Jisung pulled away the blade and kept it in his pocket. He loosen his grip from her cheeks before lightly caressing it, along with a small muttering.
"And you'll never see me the same as before."
Silence engulfed the empty room as Jisung examined her facial features. The face that he had fallen in love since a few years ago. The plan to get her fall into his trap failed since then when he was the one who fell for her charm and personality instead. He didn't know how that happens, but it just did.
And he cannot unwind the time to make it not happen.
Unknowingly, his chest tightened when the princess looked away. She even shook his hand of her face. Gritting his teeth, the guy said, "I'm gonna kill Kim Seungmin."
Her eyes widened at that. Jisung got up.
"Han, no–"
"This place is full of mines so think before you escape."
"Han!" Eunkyung tried to move her tied hands. Jisung turned around to leave. "Han Jisung!"
The guy ignored her. He clenched his fists in anger while heading to the door.
The princess panicked. "Han you cannot– Seungmin is not involved with whatever Yunseo and the king is having–"
Slam!
The door slammed shut, leaving her alone.
Her heart dropped.
Eunkyung's breath hitched before tears started to roll down. She rattled the rope that's tied around her wrist. Her breathing became heavy. Everytime her wrists were rubbed against the wooden pole, she whimpered because of the pain but she kept doing it to cut off the rope.
However, it was a thick rope. There's no hope she will succeed.
"No... no, not him," the princess shook her head in denial as she cried. "Please... don't hurt him..."
"Please don't..."
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