~ a lily among thorns~

"such is life"

It was gone. The carving. Someone had taken it.

Nari looked over the courtyard solemnly as the morning sunlight slowly filtered over the dew-ridden ground. Her usually boisterous self was on the brink of exhaustion from a sleepless night of crying and stress. Images from the night before flashed through her mind. Nari was quick to shut them out before the tears could start rolling down her cheeks again.

"I'm stronger than this," she assured herself, straightening her posture abruptly.

After another quick scan over the damp expanse of dirt, Nari gave up on her search for Poong-yeon's lily, deciding that maybe it was for the better she couldn't find it. The small object would probably have only assisted the lingering of the traumatic evening events anyway. Turning around, Nari made her way back to bunks where she presumed her roommates would be still asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I wonder where he is right now," Yeo-Wool muttered soberly as he and the other Hwarangs eyed Mouse's empty bed.

"I'm still confused about what happened last night," Suho stated, recalling the images of the terrified boy struggling in the arms of the palace soldiers.

The Hwarangs reflected on the situation for a minute before Ji-Dwi spoke up.

"Who's Nari?"

The Hwarangs looked at him in confusion.

"Last night, that boy was yelling out Nari...as if he meant Mouse," Ji-Dwi continued, gaining the understanding of his roommates.

"People tend to yell out whatever comes to their mind when they're scared, especially children. He probably has a close relative called Nari, perhaps an aunt or sister. I wouldn't dwell on it that much," Seonu explained in reply.

Both Yeo-Wool and Ji-Dwi furrowed their eyebrows with doubt at the statement, sensing there to be something more to the mysterious name. However, their thoughts were quickly interrupted by the speaking up of another.

"I wonder what the relationship between Mouse and the boy is," Suho puzzled, sitting up from his lying down position. "They don't look like each other at all."

Ban-Ryu pondered on the question, before thinking back to when Mouse had saved him from Suho's wrath. Once again, the memory had been wiped from Suho's mind and the Hwarang was too caught up in the situation to notice. Ban-Ryu cleared his throat, a little hesitant to speak.

"Whatever the situation is with Mouse, we should help him out," he said nonchalantly, trying to avoid too much attention. "I think we owe him that- -"

Ban-Ryu's words faded abruptly as the door unexpectantly opened, revealing Mouse to be standing at the entrance. Nari and the Hwarangs exchanged stares for a second before everyone's eyes turned uncomfortably to the floor, Nari hesitantly making her silent walk of discomfort through the middle of the room to her bed. Her roommates attempted to make conversation with one another to cover up the awkwardness, but the suddenness of the situation made it impossible for any of them to think. Nari immediately sensed the icky atmosphere and sought to ease the tension. In a split second, she forced an overly cheery smile on her face, and turned her face towards the Hwarangs.

"Yah! I know I'm good-looking but there's no reason to be nervous!" she cried with a laugh, ridiculing their awkward expressions.

The Hwarangs eased up a bit as they quietly chuckled at the familiar antics. Satisfied, Nari turned back to her bed and sat down, losing the smile as soon as her face was hidden. She hoped they'd have nothing to say about the evening before.