Hwarang takes a stroll in the pond side inside the palace, they're endowed free access to saunter wherever they want, as they are respected, honored, and are no less than gods in the eyes of the people.
As he proceeded towards the pond while crossing the small bridge which crossed over the pond, a few maids ran across him and they immediately bowed their heads in respect before dispersing from his sight.
The pond was one of his favorite places in the palace and maybe the whole of the kingdom, it was serene and refreshing, and it gave him a sense of revitalization.
He finally got to the pond and took a seat under the peach tree, its pink flowers had already blossomed to flaunt its resplendence as it was spring already, his favorite season of the year.
Spring was a refreshing season, it felt like a season of serenity and glamour.
He rested his back against the bark of the tree, his hands resting on the knee of his inclined leg, and closed his eyes shut as he enjoyed the peaceful quietness and serendipity of spring.
He could feel his powers surging inside of him when spring arrived, although it was because he felt laxer when spring arrived, the serendipity and the tranquil nature of the spring made him feel at peace. Still, it was ironic in contrary to his dark side as an assassin.
He closed his eyes to meditate, it felt more soothing and revivifying to meditate in spring but his meditation was abruptly disturbed when he sensed a ripple of energy emanating from across the pond.
He shut his eyes open with creased brows when he sensed the strange energy.
As a Hwarang bestowed with the power of Maitreya, they could feel the chi level of energy emanating from people and the energy level in everyone differed according to how strong their chi level was.
It was depicted by the powers one possessed and normal humans retained the lowest chi level as they possessed no powers, but amongst the three kingdoms, the Hwarangs had the highest level of chi energy as they were the strongest and then, the mage kingdom followed, lastly the Faes and lower to the normal humans whom possessed no powers but lived among them.
The wave of energy he sensed was not as strong as the ones emanating from a Hwarang and not as strong as a mage's either.
It was a Fae, he could feel the serenity and elegance aligned with the energy level as the Faes were elegant creatures, known for their elegance and grace, they were the most peaceful kingdoms amongst the three, and over decades, the Baekgyo kingdom where the Faes resided had formed a strong alliance with the Silla kingdom.
Only the Kingdom of Goryeo where the Mage clan resided declined to form alliances with both kingdoms as they ignorantly believed they were superior to the other kingdoms and should be in ruling power over the three kingdoms, but they had refrained from stemming war as they figured out both Silla and Baekgyo Kingdom were allies so the odds of losing were against them.
Hwarang's eyes narrowed to the girl sitting across the pond which shimmered under the golden sun rays reflecting on it, her bare feet immersed in the water as she sat comfortably.
He was too far away so he was sure she didn't see him, but he could see her and a maid standing beside her holding an umbrella over her head to shield her from the sunlight.
He found his eyes lingering more than he was supposed to on her, she was ethereal like and ravishing. He figured she might be a daughter of a high-ranking noble as she was dressed in an expensive blue fine silky robe embellished with red embroideries.
He was simply charmed by her beauty, not only because she was physically beautiful, but because her energy was vastly similar to spring, it was serene and peaceful.
He was already eighteen years of age and as a Hwarang, they were given the privilege to have whatever they wanted, be it women or opulence they had access to it all, but he didn't feel lustful toward her, he felt sense of serendipity like the one spring evoked in him.
He watched her in silence, merely watching her and sensing her amicable energy was simply soothing even though it felt ironic, his hands were drenched with blood and yet he felt drawn to her equanimity.
He watched as the maid excused herself and handed her mistress the umbrella before dispersing from her presence.
He persisted in watching although he knew he shouldn't watch her for too long as his subconsciousness started ringing warning bells continuously in his head.
Her eyes were fixated on space as she padded her feet playfully in the water while holding the umbrella over her head.
That was enough staring, now time to go, he thought inwardly, but before he could tear his gaze off her, he saw that the wind blew away her umbrella to a few meters away from her.
'It was just a few meters, she could easily retrieve it' He thought inwardly as he got up and proceeded to leave but he halted in his footsteps when he turned his back against her, he tilted his head to the side to steal one last glance at her.
His thick brows creased in confusion when he saw her crouching on the floor as she patted her hands on the floor, in search of something and it was obvious she was searching for the umbrella even though it was just a few meters away from her, and he realised that she was blind.
'It wouldn't hurt if he helped her' He shrugged it off and proceeded to where she was, he slowly moved to where the umbrella was and picked it up for her. He saw her halt in her movements.
"Who is there?" She queried with a slightly alarmed tone.
Silence ensued, he was a bit unsure if he should tell her who he was, but if she was blind then he wouldn't deem it necessary, besides people were more afraid of the Hwarangs, as their names were spread across the nation as gorgeous but ominous devils in human form, so he couldn't predict her reaction if he told her who he was. He wouldn't want the blind girl having a heart attack.
" I'm a noble's son." He replied in a clipped tone as he stretched his hand with the umbrella toward her but she was blind so the gesture was unnoticed.
He squatted down to her ground level and gently took her hand in his before squeezing the umbrella into it.
She hastily withdrew her hand at the sudden contact with a gasp.
He took in her physical features in a closer view, everything about her was delicate and ethereal-like, from her smooth oval face to her slender delicate fingers.
Her eyes darted into space as she was blind but it was the most captivating eyes he had ever seen. They were as green as the forest trees with a flicker of amber swirling into them.
Faes possessed different colors of eyes unlike the typical Koreans as they were magical beings.
"What is your name?" She asked while she sat properly on the grass-covered floor.
"Hwarang." He replied, he wanted the conversation to end but he found himself getting mesmerized by the delicacy and elegance in which she carried herself.
"I'm Nari. Thank you for helping me." She said politely.
Nari? She was no nobleman's daughter, she was the princess of Baekgyo kingdom. It was a startling revelation to him, it wasn't surprising the princess of Baekgyo kingdom was there as obviously, both kings of Baekgyo and Silla kingdom were allies.
It was indeed startling to find out she was blind as royalties possessing Fae powers were presumed to be more powerful, and with that power came its perk to be able to dissuade any form of ailment, curable and incurable but none were immortal and they could die by old age or murder.
"You're the princess of Baekgyo?" He queried, his curiosity hitting him deep and he found himself yearning to know more about her condition.
She nodded her head in accordance.
"By the way, are you human?" The topic got abruptly diverted on a different track but it wasn't shocking she asked, as well as the Hwarangs could, the other supernatural beings from the two kingdoms could sense energy too.
"Yes, I have a very strong chi." He replied but she didn't seem fooled by his smooth lie.
"Really? Your chi is really strong for a human. I know you're lying, but it's okay if you don't want to tell me what you are, I understand that some people get self-conscious sometimes." She remarked and he only gazed at her for a second.
"What makes you think I'm self-conscious? Tsk, it's far from that." He replied blatantly, a whiff of sarcasm in his tone.
"Ahh, really? Then what is it? I promise I won't judge." She said with a serious expression but her eyes were widened with curiosity to figure out what he was.
"No, you'll run away." He said with a low voice almost like a whisper beneath his breath, so she wouldn't catch a word.
"Did you say something?" She asked as she looked into space where he wasn't occupied.
"I have to go, goodbye princess Nari." He said stiffly before proceeding to leave.
As much as he wanted to stay and converse more with her, he wouldn't. He didn't want to grow attached to someone he knew he could never have, their worlds were too distinct and distant from each other.
The Hwarangs could never get married as they were sworn to serve the kingdom for the rest of their days.
There was no room for love or a happy ever after, there was only room for darkness and blood.