The Hands of Time

Chapter 14: Missing Piece

Her lack of knowledge of Minjeong whereabouts, whether she was taken or went by herself, made Jimin care about nothing else but the woman's safety. Even the horse she was riding seemed to sense her uneasiness, he was behaving well, cooperating with her poor skill.

If Minjeong was taken by the enemy, they had to move fast to get her back and running around would get her nowhere.

After searching for her all over the palace and failing, she and The Royal Army, helped by General Jung's people, start to look for every direction in the village, and out of the village. Though it was her first time riding a horse this long, she was moving fast and the rest of them couldn't catch up beside Han Ji Hoon who tried his best to keep the worried Jimin in his sight, leaving Kim Aeri and Ningning unguarded as Cha Eun Woo too, tagging along not too far behind them.

She couldn't care less right now. Kim Minjeong mattered the most.

"Slow down." Ji Hoon said, struggling with the snow they had to go through. "They wouldn't be able to catch up if we keep moving at your pace."

They were now close to the abandoned cottage they once lived in, Jimin thought that if Minjeong had gone to look for her, this place would be at the top of her list. "I don't care."

Instead of listening to him, Jimin only directed her horse even faster than before, her eyes roamed around the area, trying to find the missing princess in sight.

She only slowed down when she saw the cottage ahead of her, jumping off her horse, her wobbly legs almost failed her and made her trip, but she quickly regained her strength and drew out her sword before barging inside.

"Kim Minjeong!" She yelled out, glancing around the dark place as she readjusted her eyes. "Winter?" She tried again as she walked in. After checking the rooms inside, heart tightening even more, she stepped out again to see Ji Hoon crouching down in front of his horse.

He looked up at Jimin and frowned. "Footsteps."

New ones, slightly covered by the snow. Seeing that, Jimin quickly grabbed her horse and climbed on it swiftly as she had done it numerous times. She followed the path, cursing under her breath when some of them were fully covered by the white snow, but kept on moving ahead. She had an idea where Minjeong would be.

"It's just one set of footsteps." She heard Ji Hoon yelled out. "If it's The Princess, then she might be alone, she wasn't captured."

It relieved her, but not enough to drive out her worry, so she leaned down and held onto her rein tightly as she saw the river and followed it to the place where she first met Minjeong. Saw her to be exact.

And how lighter her heart felt when she saw the woman crouching down in front of the river, her head turned towards them in surprise, but relaxed when she recognized them.

Minjeong was wearing her warm outfit, her face was still red, probably because she was just sick with high fever not too long ago. She had her hood up, but a few strands of her dark hair escaped it. She also was holding a big sword in her hands.

"Oh God." Jimin breathed out, commanding her horse to move even faster before she pulled him into a stop. "Shit, Kim Minjeong." She muttered under her breath, her voice was on the edge of tears. "Damn, woman."

Watching Jimin climb down from her horse and make her way to her with quick steps, Minjeong frowned. "What are you–"

Her words were cut off by a surprise choke that came out of her throat when Jimin suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into her arms without hesitation. "You useless princess." She muttered, tears pouring down her cheeks as she choked on her words. "I was so worried."