Chaeyeon could faintly make out the outline of someone hovering above her.
Was he shouting her name?
She wasn't sure as she was still in a dazed state.
She sat up in the tub recounting what just happened. She had for a moment gone back to the 21 century or she thought she had.
Was it just the old man playing tricks on me or is there something actually preventing me from returning? She wondered.
"What could it be?" She asked herself.
"What are you chattering away at?" She heard someone ask. She turned her head towards the direction and was momentarily stunned.
"You.. you couldn't have fallen could you? Why are you here?" She asked the Fifth Prince.
" Was this your alternative? To drown yourself?" He asked.
"Huh? Don't get this wrong..."
The Fifth Prince continued, "To think I carried you back here, had the Royal Physician attend to you, waited till you woke up, left after you ungratefully chased me away and returned to bring you medicine just for you to try kill yourself again?" He sounded wounded.
Chaeyeon smiled crookedly, "I wasn't going to kill myself, I was only calming down." Her words sounded like fraud to her.
Who would believe that? She held back the urge to slap her forehead.
The Fifth Prince scoffed. "You should've thrown yourself in a well then or a lake."
Chaeyeon sighed exasperatedly.
Why should I bother explain things to him?
But she replied anyways, "you don't think I've tried? Even if I jump in a well, I would still be miraculously found alive."
" You're always spewing nonsense with a straight face." He retorted.
" Even I cannot figure out why I choose to explain the nonsense I spew with a straight face to you." Chaeyeon replied.
She stood up and made to get out of the tub. As her feet touched the ground, she suddenly felt a tug on her leg causing her to fall.
The Fifth Prince rushed to her side. "Are you hurt?"
Chaeyeon raised her dress up revealing the red marks on her left ankle.
The Fifth Prince and Chaeyeon's eyes widened simultaneously.
It can't be.....
The Fifth Prince spoke first. "You hurt yourself?" He stared at her.
Again, Chaeyeon couldn't help explaining. "There are a lot of fancy ways to hurt myself, you think I would go for such a lame way?"
The Fifth Prince stared at her leg, "Then how?" He asked softly.
Chaeyeon looked at him.
She was right. He made her always drop her guard around him.
Surprisingly, Chaeyeon didn't seem to mind.
"You.. will you believe the nonsense I'm about to spew with a straight face?" She asked.
Seeing no hesitation, she continued, "I am not from your world. Earlier I found myself in a lake with a chain bound around my ankle. This," she pointed at the bruise on her ankle.
" Is probably the injury I sustained." She said.
The Fifth Prince gaped at her.
She really does know how to spew nonsense with a straight face.
He looked at her leg.
They seemed to hurt.
He stood up. "I'll go get medicine." He said.
He was already at the door when he heard Chaeyeon's voice. "I should not really expected you to believe all that. I'm having a hard time believing it too."
The Fifth Prince's hands on the door trembled. She wasn't speaking loudly. She didn't say that for him to hear. She was talking to herself. That meant....
He swallowed hard.
She was actually saying the truth?
___
Later that night.
"How come she's not dead?" A man seated behind a screen asked another dressed in black.
"My aim was precise, she should've died." The man in black said in defense.
" But your aim was downright wrong and she is not dead!! The Crown Prince must've figured it out and he will without doubt take measures!" The man behind the screen shouted.
The man in black bowed deeply. "I'm so sorry for my carelessness."
"Well, your carelessness cannot make up for my loss!" As soon as the words left his lips, the doors opened and two guards walked in. They held the man in black.
"Get rid of him." The man behind the screen ordered.
The man in black was roughly dragged out despite his pleas.
After a while, the guards returned and knelt in front of the man seated behind the screen.
"In a few days, the Prince's royal dance will be happening. Get rid of that servant by the surname Han on that day. If possible, take out the Crown Prince." He ordered.
" As your Lordship wishes." The guards replied and left.
*****
"It seems we've miscalculated their actions. They attacked earlier than we expected." The Crown Prince said.
" Royal Servant Han has somehow gotten involved in this game of chess." The black messenger replied.
The light in the Crown Prince's eyes flickered. "They even made to kill her." He muttered.
"Thankfully, His Majesty and Her Majesty have no idea about this. The Chefs didn't say a word." The messenger stated.
The Crown Prince leaned back on his chair closing his eyes. "We cannot go on trying to take the bull by it's tail. It will only end with us being hit badly.
"Things have become more dangerous." The messenger helped him conclude.
"For now, we'll go on pretending we don't have an idea they were behind the incident. We'll see if that will slow them down or not." The Crown Prince said.
" What about Royal Servant Han? Is it still safe for her to work at the Royal Kitchen? We were lucky to have arrived early this time. Next time, we might not be so lucky." The messenger said.
" The Fifth Prince cannot stay around her as she doesn't like him and it will make Her Majesty to become suspicious. They cannot know of the dangers lurking in the shadows. Therefore, just continue to watch over her like you used to." The Crown Prince said.
The messenger opened his mouth to speak but he decided not to. He wasn't in position to question the Crown Prince's decisions. Also the timing was not right.
Not just yet.
"Yes, Your Highness." He replied.
"I'm sure Your Highness has not forgotten about the Prince's Royal dance. His Majesty and Her Majesty will have their attention on you. After this dance, you'll be assigned officially to attend Royal Court meetings and you will be placed in charge of the matters concerning the villages at the Nation's border...." The messenger stopped guessing the Crown Prince already knew where he was headed.
The Crown Prince let out a long 'hmmn'
"My position as the Crown Prince will be solidified after the dance, so they are likely to prevent it."
YOU ARE READING
A Suicidal Bloom
Romance"Before becoming a soldier, you pledged to devote your body and soul to bring glory to our Nation right even if we die?" The general asked. "Yes sir." The soldier replied. "The ironic thing is, we don't fight to die, we fight to survive but unit on...
