Crescent -ateez&skz x reader

Chapter three- Into the woods

Chapter warnings: brief mention of character and animal death, nothing graphic or detailed

Your eyes go wide, unblinking and alert as you take in the man in front of you. Why is he  here? Did I truly anger him by association with the royals? Is he going to hurt me? Why tonight of all nights did my father have to be in the tavern so late?
Your racing thoughts are quelled by the man in question, he gently raises his arms and lowers his form slightly, his features contort into a state of pure calm. The clear intent to calm you down and present himself as harmless to you is somewhat endearing but you don't dwell on it. You hear his voice for the first time, it's soft and full of quiet sincerity.
"I'm not going to hurt you, please don't be afraid. I know you have no reason to help me and I'll be eternally sorry for bringing you into my affairs like this. I greatly appreciated what you did today, it wasn't in your favour to do so yet you acted anyway. It is for that reason that I trust you enough to ask for help before leaving this kingdom. You're well within your rights to reject this, I'll leave without another word" he finishes with an unsure smile.
The sounds of guards running past reawaken the panic on his features, the air of innocence returns to him immediately as you consider his words and actions. By the sounds of the chickens squawking they're in the farmer's barn across from your home. You reply carefully, keeping your voice low to keep the conversation as undetectable as possible.
"It was no problem at all. You've already brought yourself into my affairs, whether I help you or just let you go I'll be punished for aiding you. Considering my actions today it would be rather foolish for them not to question me, so I might as well help you considering the lack of difference in the outcome. What would you need?"
Guilt washes over his features immediately and his head drops in shame, "I deeply apologise Arla, in my desire to escape I was blinded to how this would impact you, if I had put it together in my head I would've never came here" he finishes, looking up to attempt to gauge your reaction. You offer a reassuring smile to cover the growing panic in your own mind.
"We don't have the time to dwell on it now, what do you need?.. and how do you know my name?" You ask with genuine curiosity.
"I heard the woman you were with in the dungeons call you by it, I apologise for my rudeness, my name is Kim Hongjoong. I would need something to hold water, a satchel if you have a spare, and a cloak for discretion and directions to the most discrete escape route please" he finishes with a hopeful look in his eyes which becomes that of relief upon your response.
"Good to put a name to the face. I can do that, but I have a condition" you finish, having thought the situation over more thoroughly during his request.
"Thank you so much, I will be indebted to you for this. Of course, name it" he says eagerly.
You take in a deep breath, this could backfire on you severely but it honestly seems like a solid route forward for you at this point.
"As I already stated, I will be punished regardless of giving you my help, as I'm sure you observed earlier my father is not the kindest, and my perception on the lady I serve changed greatly today, that position will likely be taken from me anyway leaving me in a rather disagreeable position. So, I ask that if I help you, you please help me..by taking me with you" you finish carefully.
He's taken aback by this, now conflicted and unsure.
"I understand completely, however I could not guarantee your safety-"
You cut him off with conviction "of course, as long as no harm comes to me from your hand that is something I can accept"
"That is something I can guarantee, are you certain that this is what you wish to do? there will likely be a bounty on your head too"  he affirms, still offering you an opportunity to back out of the impulsive idea.
"There would be anyway." You confirm somewhat sadly before continuing "I have a deep understanding of how this kingdom operates, I am certain I want to do this Hongjoong"
He gives a steely nod, "alright then. We don't have much time"
You instantly rise from your bed, hand him a satchel before placing your own over your shoulder. You reach under your bed and secure the set of daggers your mother left you around your waist, making sure the blade is hidden under the leather of the satchel before handing its twin to Hongjoong. You then retrieve two water water pouches from the hooks by the door and fill them from the water bucket on your table. Hongjoong watches from the side as you flit around the space, gathering various pieces of food and some medical supplies before dividing them into the two satchels and taking two cloaks from the hooks, handing him one with a soft smile.
"I'll go out first and check the coast is clear? stay behind me, don't be seen, if we get separated look for the well, to the left of it there is a small market, follow the path through it and head for the woods. We'll be taking a more discrete route but if something happens this will be an easy and fast route" you state, he gives you a strong nod of confirmation before you both turn towards the door. He stops suddenly and turns to you, saying with sincerity and deep gratitude he's sure you'll never understand the level of.
"Thank you Arla"
"Save it for when we make it to the woods" you smile as you carefully open the door, slipping out and surveying your surroundings for any sign of life.
From what you can hear, guards are searching the markets currently. Crates are crashing on the floor and you can just make out the shapes of apples rolling out behind the building separating your home from the commotion. They'll be busy there for at most two minutes, it's a miracle they haven't checked your house already, no doubt assuming that your father's position as a blacksmith with access to weapons would've been a grave deterrence. Although it would've made equal sense to come here for the same reason depending on how you think. Taking the chance, you open your door wider and beckon Hongjoong to follow you.
Staying low to the ground, you both move quickly across the path opposite your door leading parallel to the market towards the village farm's field. Just beyond that is the woods. With any luck the guards won't make it there before you.Keeping your backs to the wall you both make your way along the back of the barn.
The sudden sound of approaching boots and clanging of metal roots you to the spot, you hope your earlier suspicions of the barn being checked already prove true as you shove Hongjoong through the doors and both duck behind the mounds of hay.
You can feel your heart pounding in your chest, the sound of your breath is far too loud for comfort so you focus on making it as quiet as possible. The footsteps are getting closer, they're on the outside of the barn by your house. Hopefully your father's absence will clue them in to his whereabouts and leave your own absence in a less suspicious regard. The sound of shouting makes you all but jump out of your skin.
"Not here, that's the west side clear. Erlos move your men to the east side, we'll do a last sweep over this end"
His words send a wave of panic over you and you turn to Hongjoong whispering as quiet as you can, "we have to go, now!"
With a nod you both rise from your hiding place and move to the barn doors, after checking the coast is currently clear, you carry on across the barn wall until you reach the fence to the field. You quietly climb over whilst Hongjoong simply holds one hand to the top and vaults it, landing quietly as a cat on the other side. Seeing the glow of torches begin to cast shadows on the side of the barn next to where you'd just walked across, you both begin to sprint towards the woods.
It's about a hundred meters to the woods, thankfully the cover of night should conceal you well enough. The sounds of the pair of you running through the field and the fading sounds of the guards leave you with a feeling of slight relief, easing the panic rushing through your veins.
Neither of you stop until you're about 5 meters into the tree line. Haunching over and breathing heavily. You look up at each other after a moment and let out a light laugh of relief. You allow yourself that much before snapping back to reality. Hongjoong speaks now, calm and completely collected as if you'd both not just narrowly escaped the guards sight.
"They'll check the woods at first light no doubt, we need to go northwest"
This makes you slightly uneasy, in that direction the woods are deep and largely unexplored, not many men who have ventured there have came back for unknown reasons leaving the area forbidden.
"Do you know what's out there? Our people are forbidden to go there, there's apparently something not quite right about the place" you ask nervously.
"Not a clue, but that's exactly why it's the perfect place to go. They'll most likely not check there especially if they suspect you to be with me, whatever is out there though I assure you I am more than capable of handling it and keeping you safe" he says confidently.
"Many knights thought that too, and they never came back, but I can't deny that you're correct about it being our safest bet right now"
With that you both carefully tread through the foliage.

~~~

It's been at least an hour by this point, Hongjoong stops and turns to you, surveying the area around him carefully.
"We should rest here for the night, I can hear a stream so we'll be able to replenish our water supply and maybe catch something to eat in the morning" 
"Okay, we shouldn't risk a fire though"
"Agreed" he replies before sitting down against a tree, you follow his actions and take a swig from your water pouch.
You now realise that you have an opportunity to speak to the man properly, not knowing when you'd have a calm opportunity like this again you take the opportunity.
"Hongjoong"
He offers a hum in reply.
"If you don't mind me asking, could you tell me about yourself and how you escaped please, it's just I'm quite curious and would like to know considering our circumstances"
"You don't have to justify it Arla, it's a completely understandable question" he replies before beginning his answer.
"I'm 24 years old, I was found and raised by a group of bandits as a child which led me to having a hefty number of crimes attached to my name over the years. Something happened a few years ago, which I don't care to go into at this stage which changed my outlook on them, so I left and have been on my own since then. It was hard in some regard because I had a friend there who was like a brother to me, he was tied there by family though so he couldn't bring himself to leave. I had a partner for a couple of months before we came here to Igoras for supplies, he betrayed me for the bounty though which is how I was captured" he trails off, a slightly lost look in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, that was cruel" you offer carefully.
"Don't be, it's fine. I should've have trusted him. Anyway, the experience I gained as a child came into use because I was able to grab a small hairpin from one of the market stalls when I saw the guards coming with my partner and hide it in my hair. I used it pick the lock of my cell when the guards fell asleep- it was far too easy by the way, Igoras should probably sort that out. When the guards changed over they must've noticed I was gone though, or someone recognised me as I snuck through the gates, and now we're here" he finishes, a somewhat cheeky grin visible through the dark.
"That's actually kind of amazing that you managed to pick the lock, you'll have to teach me how to at some point" you sigh, frankly you're incredibly impressed.
"Thank you, I'm sure I will" he confirms before adding, "now tell me about you"
"Not much to tell really, my father is a blacksmith so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about the trade. I lost my mother a few years ago and I don't want to go into the details just yet, and worked as a handmaiden for lady Alencia as you probably figured out. That's truly it really, nothing of interest or excitement."
His eyebrows furrow "I'm sorry about your mother" he offers sadly, "I'm sure you'll have a few more interesting things to add to the list soon enough" he adds lightly.
"I'm sure I will, we should rest now though"
"Goodnight Arla"
"Goodnight Hongjoong"
As you begin to close your eyes you catch a glimpse of blue wings flutter through the trees.

~~~

The feeling of your shoulder being shaken lightly brings you away from sleep and the reality of the situation hits you again before you offer him a smile and stand up, stretching the fatigue from your limbs and walking over to the stream Hongjoong pointed out before.
You wash your face, arms, neck and feet in the water, the droppings hanging from Hongjoong's head indicate he's already done the same. Slipping your shoes back on you greet him and begin to survey the area for food, aiming to only dig in to the supply you brought with you in strict emergencies. Ahead of you is a berry bush, which you call Hongjoong over too, eating around a handful of them as he also picks them from the stems.
"You're sure these are safe to eat?" he questions, clearly unaware that you've already began feasting on them.
"Of course, my mother taught me a lot about plants" you confirm with a smile.
He returns it and nods, following your actions with the berries.
As you walk to the other side of the bush, a wire comes into your vision between the trees with a rabbit hanging from it, you immediately freeze for a moment and tug Hongjoong over to you, pointing it out silently. You both look at eachother warily, it's clearly not anyone from Igoras' doing, and as far as you can see nobody is around. Making the decision to either take the rabbit or learn more about the trap you both tread lightly over to it, averting your own eyes from the animal to avoid the nausea in your stomach from growing.
Hongjoong reaches it first, observing the knots used so he can replicate it later on. A butterfly lands on the tree trunk next to you, and you suddenly feel uneasy, you could've sworn it was the same butterfly as yesterday.
"I think I've just about figured this out you know, it's surprisingly simple" Hongjoong says enthusiastically with his back still to you crouching by the wire, bringing you away from your thoughts. You're still looking at the butterfly,
"That's great, are we taking the rabbit?" You ask as you turn around and startle backwards into the tree trunk, bringing your partner away from the wire instantly before he also backs up with urgency.
There are two archers before you, an arrow aimed at each of your chests, offering the same fate.