The horse galloped through the forest with a rapid pace for hours, he couldn't afford getting caught by the assassins who were once his brothers, but now after murdering two of them, they would relentlessly be in search of him to spill his blood and that of the fae princess.
He could feel Nari's grip around his waist loosen which made him realize she was fast falling asleep. He pulled the reins, making the horse halt in front of a river that rippled softly as the gentle waves clashed, glimmering beneath the silver hue of the moonlight.
It had small particles of ice frost settled on it, as it was winter season already and snow drizzled softly from the sky.
He tugged on the reins of the horse and it moved into the water that reached its knee level as it crossed over to the other side of the dry land.
The journey persisted, although, he had no idea of where he was heading to, he only wanted to have a space safe where the assassins wouldn't be able to find them, until he came up with a plausible plan.
The wind whisked past them, whispering words of menace into his ears as darkness loomed over the land, concealing their form with the darkness as only their dark silhouettes manifested on the ground.
He couldn't sense the assassins anymore, so for the moment, they were safe. Nevertheless, he didn't let his guard down as he scrutinized his surrounding skeptically in alert for any unexpected attacks.
They had long dispatched from the fae kingdom and although, the three kingdoms were the prominent ones in the Korea nation, insignificant small villages were dispersed in the nation, making little or nominal difference to the notable kingdoms.
They were still in the woods, so there were no villages on sight. The horse galloped slowly through the forest and he tugged the rein to the side, making the horse abruptly divert its path.
A small straw deserted cottage stood in the middle of the forest, barely perceptible to the human sight as the darkness basked its figure. The horse halted in front of the cottage as he pulled its reins and he mounted down before carrying Nari in his arms as she was asleep.
His feet sunk into the snow covered floor as he proceeded toward the cottage so they could spend the night. As a lone wolf, he'd easily escape and not even bother to take a rest, but she was dragging him behind as technically, she was the reason he was on the run in the first place.
He veered around to glance back into the dark forest, with the sound of the owl hooting resounding in the vicinity as snow drizzled from the dark skies to settle on the trees and ground.
With a deep sigh, he faced straight ahead and proceeded into the cottage. The straw door creaked noisily as he emerged into the cottage, where thick darkness resided with no hint of light shed on the items in the room.
With his heightened senses, he could make out the random items with dust residing on every inch situated inside and his eyes narrowed to the straw mat on the floor.
As an assassin, they had been taught to employ their chi energy into manipulating the elements as they had a very high level of chi. He closed his eyes and opened them, suddenly a heavy gust of wind whisked into the cottage, carrying with it dust through the window.
He was about to lay her down on the mat when he felt a warm liquid dripping from her neck on his arm and it suddenly occurred to him that she wasn't asleep, but unconscious.
He gently placed her down on the straw mat with hair sprawled all over it. He could feel his heart pace elevate in panic and for the first time, he felt sweat drops manifest on his forehead.
He listened to her heartbeat and breathing and he sighed softly in relief when he was certain it was stable.
She elicited an alien sensation coursing through his veins and it was a dangerous sensation that could not be tamed or suppressed, the same dangerous sensation that made him turn his back on his assassin brotherhood and their kingdom.
He used the thought of the king exploiting them for his evil deed to defend his actions, but he knew deep down it was because of her, the strange effect she had on him was irresistible. She had enchanted his soul from their first encounter and now, there was no redemption for him.
He swallowed softly as he saw the blood oozing from the minor gash he inflicted on her neck, soiling her silky robe. With frantic movements, he tore a piece from the hem of his robe and slowly wound it round her neck as a bandage, applying pressure in the process to stop the bleeding.
He'd search for a nearby village and take her to a physician immediately dawn broke to get treatment.
He sat on the floor next to her as he watched her sleep. Even though he had lost everything, his honour, title and status in the Silla kingdom, he felt as if he had gained more than he ever did being an assassin. He was taking a diverse path and It seemed like a new beginning to a real life, void of blood and death, but he was unaware of the unforeseen twist of fate with a path of enigma.
He watched her intently for hours and then, he decided to take a rest and garner up his energy. He laid beside her and shut his eyes closed, although it appeared as if he was fast asleep, his senses were wide awake in alert for any unexpected attack.
The bright light awakened his senses and he jolted up awake with mechanical movements. He cussed inwardly as he saw the burning straw house and before he could process what was happening, he saw more arrows with burning tips fly into the cottage, burning everything it came into contact with as the flames ate it up at a rapid pace.
Nari gradually sat up in shock at the smell of the burning cottage and the smoke engulfing her as she woke up from her slumber in a deteriorated state. Without a word or wasting any more second, he pulled her with him as he moved away from the fire to the area which hadn't been eaten up yet by the flames.
He slammed his foot against the straw wall and it crumbled down with one hit. They rushed out of the cottage and Hwarang looked back to see the assassins behind them, although they weren't moving yet and instead, shot multiple arrows their way.
A subtle frown settled on Hwarang's face as he unsheathed his sword and swiftly swung his sword across the bunch of arrows, destroying them as fast as they came.
"Run!" He roared at her, but she stood unmoving.
"Run!" His voice thundered in her ears as he locked his dark gaze with her green ones as he averted his attention from the arrows for a split second, resulting a hit. One arrow shot at him, puncturing into his shoulders but he didn't wince in pain.
"I can't see." She said in a low voice as she reminded him that she was blind, but he knew, still he wanted her to run.
With gritted teeth, Hwarang shut his eyes closed and for a split second, it seemed as if time ceased to move as the snow drizzling from the skies suddenly froze in position, making the assassins confused.
In a beat, the frozen snowflakes suddenly fused as one, creating a thick frozen ice layer acting as a wall between them and the assassins. He could see Master Zhang's face etched with perplexity and anger, until the ice barricade concealed them from sight.
Although, a Hwarang could manipulate the elements, It was almost unattainable for a Hwarang assassin to manipulate the elements in such phenomenal way, employing their chi energy which left the assassins in a state of marvel.
He pulled the arrow sticking out of his shoulders with a firm movement and abruptly yanked Nari with him as they dispersed out of sight, running through the forest.
He knew she was in a deteriorated state, she had questions to ask, but he couldn't waste a split second more, as he knew that sooner or later, the assassins would be up on their tails.