Tzuyu....
Tzuyu....
What a unique name.
Tzuyu....
The name rolled out nicely on Taejun's tongue. Somehow she reminded him of a particular flower, an Amaryllis.
Splendid beauty....
The meaning of the flower itself was self explanatory. Her beauty was splendid, almost blindly so.
When can I see her again? he thought to himself.
Letting out an exaggerated groan and ruffling out his hair in annoyance, Jinho couldn't help but send a concerned look to the king's direction.
"Is there something on your mind, your majesty?" he asked out of concern.
"A lot is on my mind actually" Taejun replied in a bored tone "I need to do something to clear my mind" he stared at the ceiling with a blank expression.
The sound of wood scraping into another one caught Taejun's attention as he felt something approaching him. Whipping his head to the right he saw something flying towards him and before it could hit his face, he caught it effortlessly.
"Why don't we go shoot some targets, your majesty?"
Looking at the bow in his hands, Taejun contemplated, as much as he wanted to do something to take his mind off whatever it was plaguing his mind. He was also tired from doing way too much political work that he just wanted to laze around his room all day. Finally deciding on a decision, Taejun stood up from his seat and nodded at Jinho, agreeing, as he strode out of his room confidently.
S M A C K !
The arrow landed just near the center of where Taejun wanted it to land which made him annoyed at his lack of skills that day.
S M A C K !
Looking over to his left he saw Jinho shooting the arrow straight into the center, he turned around to face Taejun with a wide smile as he looked at where Taejun's arrow had landed and back to his.
"What's wrong, your majesty?"
"Tch" was all Taejun replied.
Pulling on the string and gripping the wood rather harshly he sent another arrow flying and this time it went farther away from the center, and Taejun could tell that Jinho was trying his best to hold in his laughter. Firing more and more arrows which constantly missed, Taejun was getting extremely annoyed at this.
Why am I so distracted?? he thought
Feeling agitated, Taejun didn't realized that his quiver was already empty until he reached out to grab one but felt nothing inside.
"Bring me another set of arrows" He raised his voice to notify the people that were with him in the training area, and immediately one person went up to him and offered another quiver filled with arrows.
"Your arrows, your majesty"
Taejun's brows raised up in speculation as he looked down on the bowing girl, taking the quiver out of her hands, she raised her head. She gave him a quick nod as she quickly retreated back to the side lines, leaving the king standing there with the the quiver of arrows untouched.
"Are you alright, your majesty?" Jinho asked, in which Taejun just nodded.
Putting aside the quiver aside, he took one arrow out and readied himself as he took a deep breath. Now knowing that she was always there looking at his failures, he wanted to redeem himself with finally hitting the center.
Breathe in...
And breathe out...
Straightening his back and letting his fingers relax yet keeping a firm grip on the bow, he closed one his eyes as he eyed the center of the target. Letting the arrow fly through the air he constantly wished that it would actually land where he wanted it to land.
S M A C K !
The arrow landed in the center and Taejun breathed out the air he didn't realize he was holding in. Clapping soon emerged from all around Taejun, but his eyes only roamed around to find a familiar face. Locking eyes with the person he looked for, he smiled at her but only received a quick bow and a nod which damped his mood a bit.
Raising his hand, he closed his fist and the applause immediately stopped.
Grabbing the quiver that was still full, Taejun slung the bow on his shoulders "All of you may go now, leave Jinho and I alone"
Bowing at the king's wish, they turned away and went scattering to where they needed to be like ants scurrying around.
"Ms. Zhao"
Stopping in her tracks, she faced the king and lowered her head out of respect.
"Yes, your majesty?" she asked.
"Accompany Jinho and I to go out for some archery"
Raising her head, her face was painted with confusion all over and looking over the king's shoulder she could see the guard that accompanied the king was confused as well.
"Your majesty" chimed in Jinho from behind him "Not to be rude, but why does she need to accompany us?"
"Simple. I need someone to hold on to the quiver" Taejun replied, hoping he sounded convincing enough.
"We've gone to the field countless of times to shoot but you always make me hold on to your quiver" Jinho's brows furrowed, unconvinced.
"You were the only one who wasn't busy"
Jinho's eyes squinted as he stared at the king "That doesn't make any sens-"
"Whether you like ot or not she will be accompinying us, it is the king's order" using his status to end the argument, Jinho just sighed and nodded.
"Your majesty, you requested that she comes with us so why does she need to ride with me?"
"If she walks all the way to the field, she'll get there too late"
"But why me?"
Looking over his shoulders, Jinho could see the girl admiring the view as they galloped across the grass while riding his horse to get to the field where he and Taejun would practice shooting from far away.
It didn't look as if she was listening to him complain as she was just mesmerized by the view and from the way she would tighten her hold on him he could tell she was very excited.
It wasn't that Jinho hated the girl, he just didn't trust her yet and he was also worried for the king who showed great interest in the girl who knew nothing about this land. And because his priority was the king's well being he had to be cautious of everyone who gets too close with the king, it was his duty ever since the age eleven after all.
Taejun kept his eyes ahead, trying his best not to look behind him especially when she was holding on to Jinho's waist so tightly, although Taejun had to laugh at the difference of their height. Still, with her being so close with Jinho made his insides churn in an uncomfortable way even though it was decision that she would be with Jinho in the first place.
It was just that, he didn't think he would be able to handle being so close to her.
Coming to a halt, he got off his horse and stroked it's head while murmuring compliments to Yeontan, the name he had given to his royal horse. Same goes for Jinho as he got off first and helped her to get down, and as Jinho held her hand to help her down his heart ached for unknown reasons.
Forcing his eyes to tear away from them he tried to distract himself by trying to find something he could use as a target. His eyes caught a figure roaming around the grass and he grinned, it was a boar.
Grabbing his arm he reached out for an arrow and aimed at the boar.
"You won't hit it when you're like that"
Freezing in the spot, Taejun turned around and came face to face with her as she stared at him. What she said caught Jinho's attention and was bewildered by her comment
"How dare you–"
"Why do you say that?" cutting off Jinho once again, it was becoming something they do often whenever she was around.
"I don't intend to offend you at all your majesty, it's just that your posture won't let you hit that boar you're aiming at"
"I don't suppose you can shoot better than me?" he said jokingly as he extended his arms to offer her his bow.
She looked at the bow and back to him, not expecting her to actually take on the challenge he drew back his arm but before he could she grabbed the bow out of his hold.
Jinho stayed alert and as soon as she grabbed the bow he took hold the hilt of his sword he always had strapped on to his waist, thinking she was going to attack the king, all that was on his mind was to protect Taejun.
But Taejun held him back, eyeing Jinho down.
"Are you sure?" Jinho asked, still holding on to his sword.
"Let's see what she can do"
They gave their attention to the girl who stood there confidently as she stretched the bow to get comfortbale.
Tzuyu calmed herself down as she cranked up the bow to increase the arrows speed as she straightened her back and eyed the target that was in front of her, she adjusted herself so that she could shorten her release on the bow so that it could actually land of the boar.
Letting out one deep breathe, she let the arrow go.
Taejun watched it all unfold. Her fingers that had been coiled around the string, had relaxed and then she let the arrow fly through the sky.
And with a loud screech, the arrow landed straight into the boars side.