~ a lily among thorns~

"it's you"

It wasn't long before Nari could feel the familiar breeze of open-air ruffling through her clothes. It was so dark, and Nari struggled to tell whether she'd left the tunnel or not. It wasn't until she brushed against a tree that she realised she was outside. Slowly, her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, the girl concluding she'd ended up in the forest. A few steps forward, and Nari could make out the glowing lights of Silla a few kilometres ahead.

"Poong-yeon, are you awake?" she whispered. Her little brother stirred, letting out a tiny groan.

"Yes," he replied, rubbing his eyes. Nari stroked his messy hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

"Would you like to walk?" she asked, her arms growing weary. The boy nodded, and she let him down. "Hold my hand," she said softly, and the two began walking to town. Nari didn't know exactly what was going to happen now. Jeong-seo had told her the tunnel would lead to safety, but the forest didn't seem very safe to her. No safer than Silla, anyway. Wild animals didn't seem a very good alternative to palace guards.

"Can you hear that?" Poong-yeon suddenly questioned, looking up at his older sister.

"Hear what?" Nari answered, stopping in her tracks. The two were silent for a moment, listening closely. The sound of twigs breaking met their ears.

"That," Poong-yeon whispered, his eyes wide.

Nari pulled her brother into her side, looking around for any signs of movement. She held her breath as the noise grew closer and closer.

"Nari, I'm scared," Poong-yeon whimpered, grabbing her cloak tightly.

"It's going to be alright," Nari soothed, but her rapidly beating heart said otherwise.

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on Nari's shoulder, causing her to spin around speedily. She raised her fists to fight, but she met no willing opponent. The black hooded figure stood still before her, his hands in the air to calm her violent reaction.

"It's you," Nari breathed, relaxing her stance. "You saved me from the guards back in Silla."

The figure nodded. Nari exhaled, taking Poong-yeon's hand again. "Can you help us?" she asked.

The figure nodded again, grabbing Nari's other hand and gently holding it for a moment before leading them away.

"Where are we going?" Nari asked, but she got no answer. Soon, she'd followed the hooded person all the way up to Silla's wall. She expected them to sneak through the gate, but instead, was surprised to enter a secret tunnel that snaked beneath the city. She didn't know there were so many tunnels in all of the capital.

"Where does this lead?" she asked again, but she was still left with silence.

"I don't think he likes talking," Poong-yeon whispered to his sister innocently, causing her to chuckle slightly.

Eventually, the three entered a small underground chamber lit by torches. There was nothing much inside, besides a few dusty crates and old furniture covered in cloth. A small table sat in the corner, ink and paper sitting neatly on its surface. Nari noticed smoke coming from an unlit candle, causing her to believe someone had recently occupied the place.

"Are we staying here?" Nari inquired. The figure shook his head, leading them to a staircase that wound upwards. He pointed towards it, motioning for the siblings to keep going on their own.

"You're not coming?" Nari asked. The figure stood still for a moment, before pushing the two forward gently in a plea to keep them moving.

"Alright..." Nari sighed, leading Poong-yeon up the steps to a small wooden door. She looked at it hesitantly, before slowly pushing it open. Light broke the darkness, flooding their faces with brightness. Nari stepped forward whilst squinting, trying to perceive their location.

"Where are we?" Poong-yeon gasped, looking around him in awestruck wonder. Nari waited for her eyes to adjust, before doing the same. A horrible feeling swelled within her stomach when she finally took a look.

Thick red curtains hung on the walls, laced with gold and silver. Eloquent paintings and regal statues met her gaze. The faint melody of delicately plucked strings echoed through the walls.

"The palace..." she breathed in horror. 

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small update, but its an update :/ 

yeet

love u