Night Prince

The Palace

"Seri! Wake up!" Prince Ri peered down worriedly at the young maiden in his arms.

Her face was pale and lifeless and her body was limp like that of a rag doll. Prince Ri panicked when he noted down the thin trail of blood running down her head and he quickly princess-carried her. Seri needed help and he wasn't going to risk her life by dawdling.

Just then, the sounds of hooves hitting the earth along with the occasional neighs could be heard as Prince Ri's royal advisor, Park Kwang Beom pulled up right beside his royal highness. The relief was clear on his face when he confirmed that the prince was completely unharmed.

"Your highness." Park Kwang Beom bowed down deeply in greeting.

"What's the situation?" Prince Ri's perfectly chiselled face was lifted in a frown.

"The East side of the village has been ravaged by the rebels. Most of the homes have been destroyed. We have a few rebels in our custody but most of them have escaped. The royal guards are tracking them down as we speak." Park Kwang Beom informed him candidly.

The East side...that was where her home was...

Straightening up while balancing Seri carefully in his arms, Prince Ri took a firm stance and made a decision that his father would no doubt give him an earful for. But, his priorities were Seri and the townsfolk. He wouldn't be able to sleep knowing there were people suffering while he was still living the life of luxury behind the protection of the palace.

"Scour the town for any stranded townsfolk. Invite any who are left homeless to stay in the palace. Get the maidens to prepare the extra guest rooms for them." Prince Ri gave his string of orders.

"Sir, should we-" Park Kwang Beom was just about to suggest consulting with the King first but Prince Ri clearly had different ideas.

"One more thing, I need to borrow your horse." Prince Ri gestured to the majestic young mare.

"Yes, your highness." Park Kwang Beom saluted before he stepped aside to let Prince Ri pass.

Hoisting himself onto the royal mare expertly even with Seri in his arms, the prince galloped off back to the palace the minute Seri was secure in his embrace. With her head leaning against his chest, Prince Ri kept the precious women close to him. The strong urge to protect surged within him as he lifted the reins and whipped them hard to coax the horse to greater speed.

No one dared to stop Prince Ri as the mare galloped through the palace gates, carrying the future of the country on its back. Slowing the mare to a still, Prince Ri wasted no time in dismounting the horse before he carried Seri into the palace infirmary. Placing Seri down on the bed, he stood aside to let the doctors and nurses work as he thought back to the morning.

That morning, the news of the attack on the town came so unexpectedly that Prince Ri barely had any time to react. With his heart in his throat, his body reacted faster than his mind could process the news and he found himself running towards the town to search for her. The only thing on his mind as he searched the town was, "She has to be okay."

Much to his dismay, he couldn't find Seri at the cookhouse or the library. Panicked, he could only hope and pray desperately that he would find her at the last possible place she could be at. Fear gripped Prince Ri's chest as he ran, akin to a knife slowly twisting in his gut. It hammered on and on in his head, threatening to shackle him to his ghostly nightmares.

The screams. The flames. The blood.

That was the last time he ever felt a fear like this.

Instead of running away from the root of his nightmares, he was running towards it, all because of her. He refused to let another angel fall because of those monsters.