Dreamcatcher Imagines

𝗴𝗮𝗵𝘆𝘂𝗻 | hush hush

Reader Is: Neutral Age (Fantasy AU)
Categories: Angst, Fantasy, Fluff
Summary: The reader, who is in disguise to her village as a male soldier, is taken on a surprising adventure with the rule-defying Princess Gahyeon whom she is commanded to control.

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You tightened your grip on your horse's mane with a grunt, already narrowed eyes darkening. "You're only making this harder for yourself!"

The figure in front of you tossed a glance back just long enough to gauge the distance between you before leaning forward against her own steed.  The sigh that escaped your lips at her stubbornness was immediately lost in the wind.

It was your secret duty, trying to control that wild streak in her. The task was not one for the faint of heart.

That was why you were perfect for the job; why you had been called in by the royal family to control their feisty, headstrong daughter: Princess Lee Gahyeon.

Otherwise known as the girl who stole clothing from her male staff so that she could dress as a boy to fight, who constantly ran away with her just-as-troublesome horse Dream, and who could all but kill a person with her breathtaking beauty.

They only trusted you, who could bear more weight than any strongman in the village, who was just as quick intellectually as physically, and who seemed to carry a heart of stone that had never been affected by the Princess or otherwise.

In truth, it was just hard to love people doing what you did – being a soldier; that was, until you were reassigned to guard the Princess.

Obviously, an unruly young royal was something that had to be kept hidden from the public. Reputations could be immediately soiled, the entire kingdom at risk of ridicule. Therefore, your job was always kept under wraps, just like your true identity.

It hadn't been your choice to masquerade as the opposite sex, but it was all you knew, and you wouldn't want it any other way besides. Your single mother needed the support of a male child, you enjoyed the hard work that men were tasked with. It was the perfect exchange.

All except for women.

You were surrounded by attractive men that girls would give lustful once-overs to – you not being an exception – and you had to pretend to relate or be interested when your comrades would discuss at length what they would like to do to them.

At least you managed to avoid questions of why you never took women home with excuses of Princess Gahyeon. As far as everyone knew, you were her closest male staff. You talked about her often enough that those around you slowly formed the notion that you were either in love with her, sleeping with her, or both.

You didn't bother correcting them. Sleeping with a royal was a bit of a crazy idea, to say the least, but if it threw everyone off your trail, you were not about to correct them. You had worked too hard, built too good of a name for yourself to mess it all up for you or your mother.

But Gahyeon wouldn't dream of sleeping with you, that was for sure. She was far more interested in women – ones who were openly women, that was. She didn't know of your identity, naturally. If she did, she would be quick to reveal your status so that she never had to see you again and you couldn't foil her runaway plans as you were currently attempting to.

Admittedly, your concern for her was not formed out of your good nature. It was out of fear for yourself, which you realized with a jolt through your heart that you still had even after all your years of fighting. If something happened to the Princess, something happened to you. In other words, you would be no more.