Bitter wind bit at Jieun's hands as she used the Jun prince's sheets to climb down the side of the high tower of Castle Hwipalam. She gripped the fabric tight, frequently uttering prayers to The Creator and her Four Winds. Glancing down, she could see she'd nearly reached the battlement walls. There would not be enough of her makeshift rope to reach the ground, but there was just enough to brave a desperate jump. The question was: was she desperate enough to make that leap.
The answer was a resounding 'yes'.
She didn't even bother to look up. That way led to a life a Jun Prince did not want and a future he could not bear. His Lord Father would never see reason, for he was raised to know he was right in his very bones. A man like that could never be convinced that his chosen path was wrong. It was right or he'd make it right. In the end, they meant the same. Escape was the only option. Prince Jun Kkachi had always dreamed of seeing the Switang borderlands and painting the fabled vistas. Jieun could do that. There were places within the kingdom where collectors hired artists on retainer to create masterpieces for them. She was no master, but her skills were good enough to make a living.
A great wind tossed Jieun like a ragdoll as if blown by The Creator herself. Only a death grip on the rope of linen and nimble feet allowed her to run along the wall. When the rope was at its limits, she was swung back in the direction she'd come. Swinging like a troubadour's pendulum, she frantically looked for a foothold that might help her arrest her momentum. Something caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she turned towards the sister tower to the prince's own.
To her surprise, someone else was also repelling down from that tower. Prince Kkachi would be concerned. What in the realm was going on? Jieun didn't have time. She needed to reach The Peach Forest and be long on her way before the prince's absence was noticed. She focused on finding her foothold and once she did, she stopped the dizzying swing. Once steady, Jieun continued down the tower as fast as she could.
She balanced precariously on a parapet crenel atop the battlements, thankful of the lessons in dance Prince Kkachi had endured in his youth. Steadying herself, she settled on heel and toe. Taking a lungful of crisp air, she peered backward at the forest floor below. It somehow seemed an even greater distance now than it did from the prince's window. Jieun knew that, if she misjudged the jump or landed wrong, she could break her leg or, worse, break her neck. Then the prince would still be married, but while being supported by his Lord Father's retainers.
He glanced in the direction of the other tower and caught sight of the stranger once more. They landed on the battlement proper and, without looking for signs of the sentries who would surely be there, yanked roughly at their own bed linen rope. The knots unraveled and most of the sheets were snatched by the wind.
"Clever," Jieun whispered. Neither she nor the prince had thought of that trick.
"Hey! Over there!" shouted a castle guard. "Intruder!" The sound of running boots on stone began before the words had fully left their lips.
"Curse of a windless night," she swore.
Before anyone could see her, Jieun skipped back and off the wall. Gripping what was left of the prince's sheets, she scurried down the wall. The sound of ringing alarms and rushing boots made her cringe with each step. Her quiet escape had been fouled by the stranger's timing. Jieun knew she couldn't be concerned with that. Focusing on her descent and The Creator's North Wind, she hoped she could at least reach the forest. Those last twenty feet of linen rope felt like a mile uphill.
Once she's reached the limit of the rope, Jieun looked down and judged she had a seventy foot drop to the grass. It was a risky leap, but she knew she could make it. Splitting her thoughts between the North and East Winds, she pulled on fire and air respectively. Sucking in a deep breath, she released her grip and simultaneously sent a line of flame up the linens. The fire raced up the side of the battlements and higher to the prince's tall tower, consuming all evidence of her climb.
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No Land for Princes(s) (ONC2024 Entry)
AdventureThe last thing Prince Jun Kkachi wants to do is marry a woman he's never met, but his parents care little, for the safety of their nation rests on an alliance. There are worse things than a marriage of convenience, but Kkachi can't think of any. Des...
