Meanwhile, back at the palace, the king had gotten news of the execution.
"My Liege, your orders have been carried out"
"and his family?..."
"we have news that they are chased after as we speak. They will be captured in no time"
"you have to hasten the search, I want them found as soon as possible"
"Yes my Liege..."
The king had faced his mother with a fake frown on his face "Royal mother, it saddens me that brother had to die like this"
"do not be sad my Lord, he is a traitor and has gotten what he deserved. Just make sure you capture the remnants of his family and all his servants. They could be rebels just like him, and we will spare them no chance".
"Of course mother..."
The grand queen had worn the most evil grin on her face. She lowered her voice to the king.
"Now, you should pacify the people, let them know how sorry you are that your brother is a rebel. Tell them you executed him for the sake of the kingdom; that you would give a generous reward to anyone who captures the traitor's family".
With that, pictures of the family of Lee Chu had gone round the whole Kingdom, distributed at every nook and cranny.
In the forest, The Lee siblings had no particular destination. It had been three days already. They had not dared to venture out to the streets because the last time they did, they had seen posters of them pasted on every wall.
Luckily, their mother had clothed them as peasants before the run. She had especially put the female child in a boy's clothes for easier movement. Therefore, no one could know she was a girl much less a noble. And so two little frames had been walking non-stop in the forest, one just inches taller than the other.
Now, apart from the Royal guards, bounty hunters had joined the chase. Lee Na had hurt her knee so bad her brother had to carry her on his back. It had slowed them down and the hunters had caught up with them. An arrow had struck Lee Min on his chest...
"brother... brother..."
"little Na, little Na, you have to run"
"no brother, I won't... I'm staying with you"
He had used his body as a shield to cover his sister from the hunters.
"Now go. I promised dad to protect you, now go..."
A twelve-year-old kid had been brutally murdered.