Queen of Roses

4) Damsel in Distress

It was never Taehyung's intention to get involved in other people's business; however, the tiny – normally hidden – moral part of his heart would not allow him to simply watch the murder of a woman. Even if he had just argued with that same woman mere hours prior to this encounter.

After settling into his new home for the year, Taehyung had ridden to a distant field in hope of finding a moment of peace. He had settled on a small hill, leaning his back against one of the only oak trees in the otherwise empty land with his white horse, Crystal, calmly standing next to him as they watched the sunset in tranquil silence. From this spot, Goryeo's entire flatlands could be clearly seen for hundreds of yards and the distinctness of the horizon allowed for the most majestic view of the sun setting. Since moving to Seoul, this had been his hiding place. It was also where he could freely immerse himself in his sole hobby, painting.

He had just begun to mix several colours of paint on pieces of leaves when a cloud of blue silk and wild, dark-brown hair invaded the corner of his vision. The pounding of her horse's hoofs against the ground shattered the peaceful silence he had been enjoying, causing Crystal to release an annoyed snort beside him.

Taehyung had watched as she rode like a madwoman through the field before finally coming to an abrupt halt in front of a gravestone. Feeling an unexpected surge of curiosity, he continued to observe her as she gently threw a rose in front of the burial area.

It was at that point that the assassins had begun to close in on her. She seemed too absorbed in other thoughts to notice them, but Taehyung could clearly see the masked men from his post on the hill. There were six of them in total, and they were all armed with steel weapons – some with daggers and others with longswords. His hands had instinctively reached for his wooden longbow and steel-tipped arrows, before he had even decided whether or not he was going to interfere.

However, when the first assassin charged towards her, the decision was made for him. Without another moment's hesitation, his fingers had pulled back on the bowstring, firing a bow straight into the attacker's neck before he could swing at the woman. He immediately slumped to the ground, while his horse escaped towards the other side of the field. Taehyung was too far away to know for certain, but he thought he could see the woman clutch her heart in either relief or horror.

Six heads (including the woman's) simultaneously turned towards the direction the arrow had come from, but by that time, Taehyung had already shot another one through the chest of another man, sending him tumbling off his horse immediately.

That left only four.

Quickly hiding behind the trunk of the oak tree, he released three more back-to-back arrows, hitting his targets in only the most lethal areas. By the time he had loaded his final arrow, it appeared he was too late as he watched the woman stagger off her horse, her body crumpling to the ground in a bone-crushing landing. He released the last arrow seconds later, catching the man square on the left side of his chest. Just like that, the field was silent once again, but it was no longer peaceful.

Taehyung mounted his horse and led her towards the newly blood-stained area of the field at a full-speed gallop. His body was flooded with the adrenaline one could only receive from a good fight, and his left hand stung from the friction of the bowstring grazing against the skin of his fingers. But he was barely aware of any of these sensations, as his concern for the woman overwhelmed all other thoughts. It was rare for anyone to die after Taehyung had decided to protect them, and he was silently praying that his effort to save this one was not in vain.

Minutes later, he reached the pile of lifeless bodies, his eyes searching the area until he finally spotted the woman. She was lying face-down against the grass, the dead body of one of her attackers laying only a couple feet away. Her sky-blue silk clothing was now splattered with fresh blood, and her hair had completely escaped from its pins to cascade down to her waist.