Night Prince

Reconciliation

Galloping. The clean sound of hooves hitting the ground echoed off the thick foliage surrounding the rebel's camp, startling the guards who had been dozing off. As quickly as those sounds came, a rush of arrows pierced through the skies, embedding themselves solidly in the trees surrounding the rebel guards who unsheathed their weapons instantly.

What was it?

An army?

Was it a friend or a foe?

Seconds later, the forest was quiet again but none of them dared to let their guards down. The attack was a statement. To the rebels, it was one of the firsts of the coming declarations of war.

Little did they know, the army they had expected was in fact a group of six – led by a prince and his witty partner.

A witty partner who figured out how to amplify the sound of the horses' hooves such that they sounded huge in numbers. A witty partner who came up with a neat trick with Joo Myeok to create a weapon that could fire a handful of arrows at one shot.

A witty partner who was beautiful as she was smart, one whom Ri Jeong Hyeok would trust with his life.

All they had to do was execute their plan and for that to happen, they had to draw the rebel's leader out.

Their plans proved to be a success, for Seo Dan had emerged minutes later to survey the situation. But she couldn't find much, because they were a distance away from the rebels. That meant they had to patrol the grounds.

"I'll take the north." Seo Dan volunteered.

"Do you need us to follow you as backup?" One of the guards asked.

"No, I work alone." Seo Dan eyed the guards with unwavering coldness before she trudged towards the north without missing a beat.

Her footsteps were sure, unfaltering, exuding the confidence that those narrow shoulders of hers were born to carry.

The guards who had shrunk back in fear under their commander's gaze quickly scrambled towards their allocated area of patrol, leaving Seo Dan to work as the lone ranger she always was.

To the royal entourage, that was good news.

Sneakily they followed her until she was a safe distance away from the rebel's camp. But, Seo Dan wasn't a fool. She had felt their eyes on her ever since she parted from the rebel guards. Before either of them could land a blow on her, Seo Dan had unsheathed her twin blades, holding them out in front of her protectively.

In the hands of the camp commander, those twin blades took on a more menacing look, threatening to slit the necks of those who dared to attack her. As they had expected, it wouldn't be easy to take the princess down, but that was where Kwang Beom came in with his herbs.

They weren't looking for a fight today, and they most certainly didn't wish to harm the princess. The royal entourage was bounded by their duties to protect the royals, the prince was bounded by his love towards Seo Dan as her brother, and Seri was bounded by her love for the royal highness. None of them was in any position to fight Seo Dan.

The fact that she was an extremely skilled fighter did not make the situation any better for them. So, they resorted to the use of nature – the valerian root mixed with other botanicals to induce a potent, sedative effect to knock the princess out harmlessly.

It did its job. The minute the princess caught a whiff of their concoction, she slumped forwards, her eyes sliding shut just as Ri Jeong Hyeok caught her in his arms. Her twin blades clattered to the ground, leaving her defenceless to her surroundings and the darkness lining the edges of her vision.