to eternity | n. riki

22. careless

The two continued their walk in the town of Aragon. The day was pleasant and the prince noticed that Hayoung seemed to be a bit more at ease. They passed street vendors and tables of trinkets. It reminded them of when they were younger, but both didn't want to admit it.

As Hayoung and Ni-ki walked past an alleyway they heard the sounds of grunts and pounds. Alert, Hayoung's head turned quickly as she saw a horrible sight.

"You fucking Xernian swine!" A man sharp in his tone shouted as he plunged a kick to the man on the ground.

"Look at this pathetic Xern," another man snickered, "All you Xerns are what's causing problems here. You should've fucking died like the rest of them did!"

Hayoung clenched her fists as her eyes appeared to be burning with fire. Her heart beat quickly as she felt herself almost step in to stop the men. Xern, a derogatory word she hadn't heard in ages angered her. She was furious. So furious Hayoung could've taken her knives out and killed the men. But before she could enter the alleyway, Ni-ki grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the scene.

"This is fucking insanity," she whispered in disbelief, "How is it that we are still being blamed. Everywhere I go, why is it always the fault of Xernians? What the hell did we do wrong?"

"I'm sorry," Ni-ki said breathlessly with his head down.

The prince unraveled Hayoung's hand, her palm covered in blood from clenching so hard. Ni-ki sighed softly as he took his handkerchief and wrapped it around her hand. The rest of the walk back to the inn was in silence. It was a kind of heartbreaking pain because they both knew this was the reason why their friendship ended. 

**

Being well rested, the prince and Hayoung were back on the road, heading to Monterria. The journey to Monterria was going to be more dangerous as the climate was rocky, steep, the air pressure low. Hayoung was prepared for all things, but the prince on the other hand was unsure of his strength. Though he served in the air force, he wasn't quite sure he could even handle something as dangerous as going up the Monterria mountains.

As the two rode on Pippa and Skipper, the tension between Hayoung and the prince was quite bad, there was no denying it there. Hayoung was vexed by the prince's actions prior to their departure from the Elderflower Inn. However, the prince was having quite a difficulty as to why Hayoung was giving him the silent treatment.

"Captain, what's going on?" He questioned, getting Skipper to keep up with the pace of Pippa.

"Do you seriously not remember what you did, your highness?" She snapped coldly.

The prince swallowed his saliva anxiously as he quietly muttered "no."

"Are you fu- kidding me?" She stopped herself from cursing at him. Her temper had gotten increasingly worse over the years, becoming an impatient person. However, being with the prince was making her fuse shorter.

"Hayoung, I'm sorry. I swear, I'm so sorry for whatever I did, just tell me so I won't do it again," he begged.

Hayoung felt her eyes twitch and blood vessels pop onto her forehead.

"Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?"

**

Flashback

The night before they left Aragon, Hayoung was in the room, prepping for their journey to Monterria. The prince was washing up in the bath. After being a witness to violent discrimination, Hayoung was desperate to get that scene and words out of her mind. Thus, she resorted to work. She has always resorted to work to help her cope and stop thinking.

As she continued to map out their journey and pack up, she realized the prince had been gone for far too long. It had been 3 hours since the prince was back in the room. Hayoung was anxious again, hoping he didn't leave the inn.

Hayoung walked downstairs to the main hall of the inn. She noticed Delanie was in the pub, serving guests. There at the bar, she saw the prince with his head down with large empty glasses next to him. Hayoung rushed to him instantly, grabbing his shoulder.

"Your high- Ni-Riki," she corrected herself, hoping she didn't blow his cover, "What on earth is going on?"

She was taken aback by how strong the smell of the booze was.

"Haaaaayoung," he said, clearly drunk, "I was waiting for you."

Hayoung was appalled by the sight. Before she could let her frustration out on him, she rubbed the temples of her forehead and made efforts to put the prince's arm over her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go back to the room," she huffed, trying to hoist him up.

Together they began to trudge out of the pub and up the stairs.

"Hayoung, why does it have to be me?" He questioned aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"Why does my father have to make me do this? I never asked to be a prince. I don't want to marry someone I don't love," he said drunkenly but his voice breaking.

"It is your duty to your country. Sometimes you have to make decisions you don't want to," she exclaimed.

"But what if I want to be selfish?" He questioned.

"You can't be. Not during this war at least."

"But I just can't do this. I don't want to be put on this mission. It's always my life being risked. I could've died once already! How many more times do I have this type of thing? I hate my life."

They made it back to the room and Hayoung was more frustrated than ever. Walking near the bed, she simply dropped the prince on it, Ni-ki stumbling as he fell.

"Your highness, you know what type of person I hate the most? You. You are far too entitled despite being a prince. Have no responsibility for yourself nor your country. You are representing your motherland and you are complaining about marrying someone you don't love?" Hayoung scoffed in disbelief, "Your highness, let me tell you something, life isn't fucking fair, but you've had a good life. How many blisters do you have on your hands? None because you've never had to lift a damn finger for anything born with a golden spoon. You hate your life? You ought to know people have gone through worse shit than you. Despite having some nice moments, you have been so selfish. I hope you know your country is depending on you. And no matter how awful you may feel, you were born into your family for a reason. So grow the hell up and stop acting as if you're an immature child still. Getting drunk and crying about it isn't going to solve any of your damn problems."