She hears her stomach rumbling as she peeks through the window, seeing only a back alley and the back of a building, possibly another row of shops. She sees a group of women, in which she assumes are restaurant workers chatting happily with each other while their hands peel potatoes, grind chillies and soak uncooked rice. Her stomach gives another warning as she sees them, and she decides it won't hurt for her to step out for a moment to get something to eat. From the watch on the dressing table, she sees that it's almost noon and considering how she didn't have anything to eat since yesterday, it's only right to feed herself. She doesn't have any food in her luggage and even water is not an option.
She takes a quick shower, decides to dress herself in a woven shirt she had received from Yunho as a birthday present 3 years back, and a pair of worn out pants. She brushes her short hair with her fingers and let them loose. She had tied her hair when she was at the palace, so she hoped that she would be less recognizable if she were ever to bump into any of the palace's occupants when she steps out of the inn. Trying to hide her wounded body as much as possible, she then closes the door behind her, bringing some money with her. She goes down the stairs, nods a greeting to the friendly owner that invited her in and emerges from the double doors.
In contrast with the image this morning, there are more people strolling around town as it comes closer to noon. From the heat that touches her skin, she can tell that the sun is directly above their heads. She purposefully walks on the side instead of in the middle of the walkway as that would make it easier for her in case she needs to escape. Touching her stomach, she looks around for any shop that can at least sustain her hunger until the next morning. She knows that if she wants to stay here as long as possible, she would have to be stingy with the money she currently has. Even staying at the inn costs her every night. She has no means of income, so if she wants to go with her plan, she will have to do it very fast.
She spots a restaurant that sells noodles, and she doesn't have to think anymore when she walks in there, guided by her own hunger. A bell rings as she pushes the door apart, revealing a restaurant that fits around 10 tables. 7 of them are occupied, and she takes on the one in the middle. Equal chances of running away either through the front or the back. She gets handed a menu, to which she barely sees and goes on to order noodles with spicy broth - that would cost her 3 wais. The plain water is self-service and free, so she opts for that. While waiting for her noodles, she carefully studies the other customers.
Smiling couples. Several single people eating. A family with one kid.
What disturbs her is everyone in town seems very... happy. Content.
She could not find beggars anywhere on the street. If it was Lucida, they wouldn't walk a metre without being stopped by a beggar. Once, she had driven a sword through one of them because he was being persistent and she wasn't having the best day. The world around her turned quiet as the body of the beggar dropped on the dirt and no one dared to move a muscle. Even Yunho was shocked at her action, and to be honest, she was too. At herself. It was very impulsive and to this day, she kept remembering it. Yunho had to calm everyone else down while he pulled her away, mumbling about how everyone's lives have its worth and she can't simply kill someone just because he was being a nuisance.
She had shot back, saying that no lives besides the noblemen and royalty are worthy. "Even our lives are meaningless," she had replied, placing back her sword in its cover. It kept him quiet while he ordered the rest of the troop to bury the body somewhere safe. She eyed the body but offered nothing else. She had stomped away alone, leaving Yunho who was desperately trying to mend the situation with the onlookers and chasing her to knock some sense into her. That was when it all started. How news about the palace's soldiers getting a free pass to kill anyone in their way is passed around. No matter if the victim was innocent or not, they could end his or her life right there and then, if the soldiers felt like it. That was when the real fear towards the soldiers started to grow, especially the fear towards the leader, the general, Akira Hwang.
She knows it was her fault, but it was too late to turn back. A lot of people witnessed her killing, and news travelled around fast.
That had happened 7 years ago, when Akira was 16 and Yunho was 17. They were young but their body count kept on increasing. Yunho is the older one, but Akira always seemed to be in a higher position than him. She became general while he was a step down as a lieutenant, but that didn't mean Yunho always followed whatever she said. He was the only soldier who dared to go against her words, challenge her. She believes that swinging a sword is her outlet to vent her anger, but Yunho had managed to calm her down over the years.
She still lashes out once in a while, but she now focuses more on aiming it at non-living objects and not humans. Though she might lose herself sometimes. She knows that it is just a sad excuse for her to release her anger - anger towards her birth, anger towards her anonymous parents, anger towards the destiny that has been written in her blood, anger towards Emira for being born into a good lineage, anger towards Yunho, who is always smiling, as he seems to not care that having a servant's blood means that he is doomed from the very start.
Yunho might have tried as hard as he could to keep Akira in check, but that was only as far as he could go. They couldn't change destiny, and this was theirs.
She snaps back into reality as the server places a bowl of noodles in front of her, and she takes no time waiting for it to cool down. In under 5 minutes, the hot noodles are already safe in her stomach and she is gulping down her last drop of water. She places the correct amount of money under the bowl, calls out to the server indicating that she had paid and leaves the restaurant as quick as she had entered. With her stomach full, she decides on walking around town to let the food ease and probably let her mind at ease too. The room at the inn is too stuffy for her to be able to clear her thoughts.
For once, she just wants to live like a normal citizen. One that is not bound by the queen, one that she can walk around without being feared.
She looks at the front of the shops, noting different kinds of shops available. Tailors, locksmiths, inns, restaurants, carpenters, all kinds of shops you can think of at this day and age. The shops aren't necessarily big, in fact some of them looked like they would be the size of the queen's chamber, but the owners and workers look like they are doing business as their hobby and not for the sake of money. In short, they look like they enjoy doing what they are doing. Meanwhile in Lucida, businesses are all about tramping on each other and getting the most money out of the day.
She reaches the square located at the centre of town. There stands a fountain, and her lips curl into a smile as she sees a sign hung at the top. She shelters her eyes as she tilts her head to read the sign. 'MAKE YOUR WISH HERE, AND THEY SHALL COME TRUE.' There are several people around the fountain, clasping their hands together, lips chanting their wishes and eyes closed. Unknowingly, she steps in front of the fountain and joins the crowd. The rest are too absorbed in their own wishes that they pay her no heed.
She never believes in these things, yet she finds herself following suit - clasping her hands and closing her eyes. There are too many that she wished her for, but she wished for one thing that she wanted deep down, even though she never admitted it. She should have been praying for her life, hoping the queen wouldn't kill her first, hoping that she had enough strength to stand up against her own queen. Instead, she discards all those thoughts. She focuses on one thing only.
"Please let me see colours, let me know what green looks like, what blue looks like and what the sun looks like when morning comes."
She closes her eyes for a bit longer, and she half-expects her wish to immediately come true. Of course it doesn't. The same black and white envelope her, and she finds herself alone facing the fountain. She chuckles to herself when she realizes that she must have looked ridiculous. She steps away from the fountain, slightly disappointed that she had high hopes. She walks further south, passes more shops and residents milling about.
She stops to see someone putting up what seems to be posters on every pillars that stand between several buildings. Curious, she heads over to see what it is. It seems to be a new one, as indicated on the date. The poster is looking for a missing person, and there is a reward for someone who is able to bring the person back to the palace. 1000 wais. Her eyes move to the portrait of the missing person with her mouth hanging open.
"You have got to be kidding me."
She is staring back at her own portrait on the poster.
---
4 hours ago, Nyla palace
"We have to look for her now. I don't care what anyone says, but she is in real danger. She doesn't stand a chance against the queen. Especially if she has her horde of soldiers supporting her." Jongho shudders at the thought.
"And how do you suggest we do that? What if she's not even in Nyla anymore?" Wooyoung enquires.
"She is most likely still in Nyla." San appears from the kitchen, holding his own plate of breakfast. As he sits down, he mentions, "I saw her leaving the palace at around 3:30a.m. If she doesn't hitch any ride and just walks, she's most likely still here. For now..." His eyes travel to his watch. "The furthest she could have gone if she doesn't stop is the forest border. So she won't arrive at Lucida until evening. That is considering if she doesn't stop. But walking that far is not easy even for a soldier. So, I can say that she's still not in Lucida. Maybe out of Nyla, but definitely not back in Lucida."
"San, you're back!" Wooyoung gives him a quick hug to which he shrugs off, and the former quickly turns serious. "You saw her sneaking out and you didn't even tell us?"
"There must be a reason she left quietly, idiot."
Wooyoung ignores his comment as he quickly says, "We don't have time to waste and we should find her. Now."
"What are the odds that she's still in town?" Seonghwa speaks up, causing the four of them to look back at him.
"The town is pretty big and she might be hiding somewhere so it's going to be hard asking people one by one. And it's hard since we don't have a picture of her."
"We can hand out missing posters... with a reward of course." They look at Yeosang quizically as he shrugs. "What? It's worth a try. Plus, it would make it easy for any residents in town to spot her."
"But we still need a picture of her. And we don't have one," Seonghwa relays.
"Then we can draw one."
San looks at them for a few seconds before commenting, "I do hope that none of you are planning to do it because she's going to end up looking like a monster and we won't find her even if the world ends."
"We're not, but I know someone who can draw pretty well," Jongho offers.
"Is it someone from town?"
"No, he's living with us. Well, not exactly with us, but near us."
"Who?" They turn to look at him.
"Kim Hongjoong, our very own blacksmith."
[A new chapter for today because it's my birthday and I'm feeling somewhat happy <3]