Awaiting The Dawn

6: Evening Conversation

To lower the risk of waking her, Hisa waited a few minutes before carefully scooping the princess up and laying her down under a blanket.

"I don't get it," she heard Yoon half-whisper.

Hisa sat down near him, willing to take up the role as his conversation partner. Or more accurately...a listening ear.

"She's not at all like I expected. Sheltered and high maintenance, sure. But it's hard to hate her like those stuck-up nobles."

That frown would give him wrinkles.

She reached forward and rubbed his forehead with her thumb. He froze stiff, then jolted away. "Hey! Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean you can lay your hands on me without permission."

"Ah!" Hisa moved back and kept her hands on her legs, mouthing 'sorry.'

"I've been meaning to ask this, but is there something wrong with your voice? Or are you choosing not to speak?"

Hisa lifted two fingers and nodded, then shook her head.

"Well, what is it? The second case? You're choosing to, but you're not? But that doesn't make any sense." Yoon kept his eyes on her, likely so that he could catch whatever body gestures she made.

Though she knew this, Hisa still felt a little shy from the attention.

Plus, Yoon's cuteness urged her to pat his head and squish his cheeks. That would probably be rude though.

Their height wasn't too different, but she was a little taller. His sweet apricot hair made a breath-taking combination with his round blue eyes that shimmered in intelligence.

She shrugged at Yoon's confusion, knowing she could tell him soon enough.

He sighed, but didn't press further. "You know Ik-Su. And you're a priest."

He was looking for confirmation, so she nodded.

"And he said you can see things that even he can't. Does that mean you have dreams of the future more often?"

She shook her head, then nodded. If it wasn't dark out, Hisa would have gone outside and written in the dirt so he could understand.

Hisa pointed to her eyes and nodded. Then, she mimicked the pose Ik-Su used for praying and gestured to her ears, shaking her head.

Despite her effort, Yoon had no idea what she was trying to say.

Both discouraged, he took a moment to think of another question, one that wouldn't be as difficult. "I'm going to ask this but I already know the answer. It's more like a test so I can figure out what you mean, so don't think a genius like me forgot."

She let out a short laugh and nodded.

"Alright. How old are you?" He asked.

Hisa pointed to Yoon, held up two fingers, dropped her thumb in the direction of the ground, then pointed to herself.

"Me, two, down, you...I'm two years younger than you?"

Instead of nodding, Hisa applauded.

"I wouldn't have gotten that without knowing the answer!" Yoon criticized her gestures. "What, do you like overcomplicating it? How is anyone supposed to guess like that? And how come you know my age?"

Hisa smiled and pointed to her eyes.

"You saw my age." The boy was clearly skeptical, and his tone showed it.

It wasn't insulting to Hisa that he didn't fully trust her power. If anything, she liked how his mind seemed to work.

She shook her head and pointed to Yoon.

He blinked, momentarily stunned. "You saw...me...?"

Her lips curved up, moving her arms to both the princess and her guard, then all around the room.

"You knew they were coming, like Ik-Su did."

She didn't nod, because she knew the look on her face told him what he wanted to know.

Hisa crawled back to where she left her belongings and laid down on the floor. She was tired enough to sleep even if she had to go without dinner. There wasn't much space, so she went beside the princess, making an effort not to get too close.

"So then how did you fall off a cliff?" Yoon asked with a yawn.

Hisa involuntarily coughed, too embarrassed of the memory. She kept her back turned from him.

Unfortunately, the self-proclaimed genius seemed to figure out what happened, muttering under his breath. "I knew it. All priests are clumsy."

It was clearly a taunt. One that wasn't entirely inaccurate, much to her shame.

She sat back up and shook her head fiercer than intended, doing her very best to deny the statement. Next thing she saw was total darkness because Yoon had thrown a blanket in her face. "Sleep well, I guess."

With that, she covered herself and closed her eyes. Whether from her worry that she'd suffer a nightmare again or Yoon's goodwill, Hisa didn't think she'd sleep.

Worse, her stupid heart wouldn't calm down, feeling all warm from the kindness offered to her.

How long had it been that she felt this? When was the last time she went to sleep not feeling miserable. Or worse, nothing at all?

And all it took was falling off a cliff.

She stifled a laugh.

That night made her believe her mother's words about how Hisa was blessed with a simple mind. Within minutes, she drifted off and had her first quiet rest in months.

She felt safe knowing no one else would find Ik-Su's house. Safer than she felt in a long while.