Ten Years Later...
Anya tiptoed as she tried to reach the luscious red apple hanging from the tree. Once she realized she couldn't reach it, she decided to try jumping next. After a few tries, she huffed and moved to the next tree a few meters away. Before she could try and take another apple, she heard leaves rustling as if someone were running.
She was about to flee but she felt a sword on her neck instead. The apples she was picking fell on the floor. Unexpectedly, her fox senses caught the stench of blood from the stranger holding the sword. She observed his form quietly. His hair was black, and his eyes were the prettiest shade of purple she's ever seen. This guy was pretty handsome!
"Don't move. Are you one of them?" A cold voice spoke, enough to make her feel chills down her spine.
Anya was calm because she knew martial arts after all. This man seemed to be heavily injured. Was he an assassin? But the more she thought, the more she felt like that thought was wrong. She could hear his labored breathing before she asked, "What do you mean?"
The man didn't reply but held the sword closer to her neck. "Woah… Did you come here to assassinate me? Who hired you? If King Shoa sent you to threaten me to marry him, then he can kiss his kingdom goodbye."
The man furrowed his eyebrows at her reply before turning her to face him. A red-haired girl with big green eyes and pink lips frowned at him. At his silence, Anya grew frustrated. "Look, what did he promise you? I can promise you more than that. I know Aonani seems like a weak kingdom, but haven't you heard about our military? If my father finds me dead in our territory, you will be hard pressed to escape."
The man was caught off-guard and lowered his sword. Anya dusted her gown and bent down to pick up the fallen apples. "Thank you. I can spare your life. You're lucky I'm not armed. I would have killed you ages ago." Before she could pick up the last apple, she turned to the direction of leaves rustling. It sounded exactly like the sound of the man's arrival, except there were many people coming. She turned her gaze to the man who was also looking at the source of the sound. Did he bring reinforcements? She was about to ask when the man quickly pulled her behind a large tree, hiding their bodies from the approaching men.
His large hand was covering her mouth as she struggled in his hold. Her eyes were glaring but he only looked at her coldly. "Those assassins are after me. Don't move." He said in a low voice before turning her around, pressing her back against his chest. Anya was about to kick him where the sun don't shine until she saw black robed men entering her uncle's apple orchard. There were at least twenty of them, all wearing facemasks and carrying large swords. She saw them look around before retreating, probably because it was Aonani territory.
Anya felt the man's grip on her waist loosen the moment the assassins fled. She turned around to kick some sense into the guy, but the moment she did, she caught his falling form.
She looked at the tall man in her arms with furrowed eyebrows. He was really heavy due to his height, she only reached to his chest. She slowly sat him down, making him lean on the tree. She remembered the smell of blood earlier and pinpointed it to his chest. Anya has been learning the medical arts since she was young, so the conventions of male and female didn't really bother her. She quickly unbuttoned his black shirt. When her hands felt a gash spanning from his right shoulder to the left of his stomach, she knew he must have passed out form blood loss. She quickly ripped the hem of her skirt and used it to staunch the blood flow.
The man's eyes slowly opened to witness the pretty red-haired girl focused on pressing a cloth to his chest. He tried to get up, but he was stopped by the girl. "Don't. Your wound is deep. You're dizzy, aren't you?" She didn't even wait for his answer, "It's because of the blood loss." She pointed at a shack a few meters away, "Do you see that? Do you think you can stay awake while I bring you there?"
The man furrowed his eyebrows confused. Why was this girl helping him? She saw his confused look and thought he was almost fainting. "Alright, you don't need to think. I'm going to help you up." She said softly as she drew near him to wrap his arm around her shoulder, while her arm went around his waist. She slowly helped him stand up and took slow steps to the shack.
The man looked at the tiny girl bearing his weight and felt his lips curl up into a small smile. She looked a bit cute. He paused when he realized what he was doing. He has never let anyone near him this close ever since he took the throne at seven. He learned he had to be cautious around everybody, even the ones he trusted the most, which wasn't a lot of people. When he grew older, he learned to defend himself and use his dragon heritage to his advantage. He was undefeated… Except this one time.
When Anya felt the man pause, she looked up to his serious face and somehow… She felt his unease. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you." He narrowed his eyes at her words. Anya looked at him with wide eyes and huffed, "I would have killed you earlier if I was planning to. Stop looking at me like that."
The man seemed to find a burst of strength and held the sword back to her neck while breathing heavily. Anya rolled her eyes, "Are you serious? You will bleed out because of your stupidity. Hurry and follow me if you can walk!" He watched the tiny girl huff and turn around to continue walking to the shack. "Who are you?" He finally asked. The girl turned around and gave him a bright smile.
"I'm Anya! The Princess of Aonani."