Queen of Roses

9) Knight & Shining Armour

"Chaeyoung, they're catching up!" Lisa exclaimed as Chaeyoung tugged on Midnight's reins, narrowly dodging a pine tree.

It felt like they had been on the run for ages, but judging by the shifting tree pattern, it must have only been a couple moments.

A cloud of dirt and sticks whirled around them from the speed of the stallion, his hoofs pounding against the damp soil in rhythmic beats. Behind them, the sounds of their pursuers' horses were growing louder and louder.

Lisa was right.

Midnight was one of the fastest horses in Namgyeong, and although his limbs were moving as fast as they possibly could, Chaeyoung could tell he was beginning to tire. It was to be expected, considering he was carrying twice the load of the attacker's horses. Even so, he had capably led them deep into the forest. He had brought them this far.

At that moment an arrow was fired so close that Chaeyoung could feel the cool wind from its movement against her left ear. Luckily, it missed. Its steel tip pierced a nearby tree with an ear-splitting crack, shattering the bark and causing bits of it to hit her cheek.

With her heart hammering against her ribs and the palms of her hands moist with cold sweat, she pulled roughly, cueing Midnight to take a sharp turn towards a twisted path. The path less travelled by, but the path she knew by heart.

"Where are you going?" Lisa screamed, just as another arrow whizzed past them, its momentum causing Lisa's auburn hair to thrash wildly in the air, "the Hope-Inn is in the opposite direction!"

"We will never make it there safely at this pace! We need to create a diversion."

They reached the palace garden within a few short moments. Chaeyoung closed her eyes for a second, listening intently past the sound of crickets and bristling leaves, but she could not hear the pitter-patter of any hoofs. Her sudden change in course had successfully thrown off their pursuers.

As soon as they entered the discreet vine-covered passage of the palace garden, Chaeyoung jumped off the horse and then helped Lisa climb down.

"You're leaving Midnight here?" Lisa asked in astonishment as she followed Chaeyoung back towards the direction they came from.

Chaeyoung pursed her lips, sneaking a quick guilty glance back at the stallion she had raised for the past 4 years.

"I have to," she sighed, "they will follow the hoof marks to retrace our steps and won't be expecting us to travel by foot. Leaving Midnight here alone may create just enough of a distraction for us to slip past them in the opposite direction."

They climbed through the vines, out towards the forest, where the distant shouts of the officers were audible.

"We need to split up," Chaeyoung whispered as they ducked behind a nearby shrub.

"No way!" Lisa cried in a hush tone, "I'm supposed to be protecting you!"

"It's easier to hide that way, Lisa, which means less chance of being found and more chance of making it out of this alive."

Lisa frowned, her lips pursed into a thin line that expressed just how opposed she was to this idea.

Chaeyoung threw her a small, encouraging smile over her shoulder, "I'll go west first, you go east. Create a confusing path so they can't trace you. Then, we'll meet again at the safe location, okay?"

"No, it's not okay-" Lisa began to whisper-yell, but Chaeyoung had already begun to run through the sky-high pine trees.

As her feet repeatedly hit the damp soil, she prayed to the heavens that she would be able to keep her promise and survive. A slow, torturous burning sensation began to crawl up her throat, and her mouth became dry as paper. But she did not slow. For she was no longer just running to save herself. She was running for everyone who believed and depended on her. This was for her beloved country.