Hani had started running towards her home as fast as she could.
Her brown hair was merging to her face as she ran and she couldn't even catch up with her breath.
She had stolen two breads from a local shop and unfortunately, two huge man were coming after her, looking like they were going to devour her by the time she slips through their fingertips.
" Papa!!" She screamed, panting and sweating in the process.
She had even surrendered the bread thinking they would stop chasing her but it was the other way around.
Good thing she was almost getting to her home. She started increasing her pace but she could feel her bare feet swell cos it was very sunny that day.
After running for miles, she turned her head to see if the men were still coming after her.
Her tiny toes merged with a rock and she fell on her stomach.
" Papa!!" She screamed, spitting out dust.
Miguel ran out of his house after hearing her voice. He saw her on the floor and he quickly ran up to her, pulling her up on her feet.
" Are you okay,hani?. Did you hurt yourself?" He asked.
" I'm fine" She said, hiding her toes behind her foot so he wouldn't notice it was bleeding already.
" You didn't get the bread?" He asked in a careful tone and hani lips formed into a cute pout.
She had not eaten anything since two days, only to get disappointed with what happened today as well. Her face was covered with black spot and her hanbok dress was looking so unkept as well.
Her dad could see the disappointment in her bright eyes and he sighed, hugging her face to his chest.
He ribbed her head and kissed it softly.
" Everything will be fine hani. I'll find way to get food from the next neighbour, I promise" He said and looked up only to find two men coming.
" Did you invite visitors hani?" He asked and she turned around.
She found the men who were chasing her earlier coming at a distance and she quickly ran behind her father, hugging him tightly.
" Who are those?" Miguel asked.
" Stop them dad!. Don't let them get me. Don't let them hurt me!" She mumbled, clutching his cloth tightly. The men stopped as soon as they got to them and Miguel swallowed hard.
" Are you her father?" The first man asked.
" Y..Yes" Miguel nodded.
" So you are the fool influencing this little lady to steal from the local shops everytime?!, huh?!. Do you know how many things have gone missing all cos of her?." The man yelled.
" No..I..I.." Before he could finish, a fist was raised to his stomach.
Miguel staggered back holding his stomach agonisingly and hani held him feeling very concerned.
" Are you okay, father?" She asked with circled brows.
The second man raised his fist and disfigured his cheek with a punch causing him to loose his balance. The man instantly pounced on him, beating the entire living daylight out of him.
" Papa!!" Hani screamed and tried to walk towards him but the other man held her wrist and pulled her with full force.
" Come with me!!" He yelled.
" No!. Please don't hurt me. Please!!" She cried, struggling with him.
" Shut the f*ck up!" The man suddenly slapped her cheeks very hard and her hair merged to her face instantly.
She bowed her head and started sobbing.
" I can't believe you steal. Everyone has definitely mistakened your identity as a nice girl"
" We don't have food!. I had no choice!" She yelled with her tiny voice
" That none of my business. A thief deserves to be treated as one!"
" But I'm the one who stole!, kill me instead!. Please don't kill my dad, he's the only one I have in this world, please" She cried so helplessly, palming her hands.
" I won't kill you. We are going to visit the Emperor's place tonight!. Your nuisance has gotten out of hand" He spat.
" Oh please don't!. I'll get killed" She cried, with tears trickling down her cheeks slowly.
She had known the Emperor to be a very wicked king who would get a neck snapped off at the slightest minute. But that wasn't her biggest problem, Her dad was.
She turned around and met the other guy still beating up her father mercilessly.
" P..Pa...Papa" She swallowed hurtfully. " He's dying please, Help him!" She cried.
Everything was happening so fast that she regretted ever waking up to another day.
This was it, her worst nightmare was happening right in front of her. More tears ran down her cheeks as she watched him bleed down his head, in her very own eyes.
" That's Enough view!. Let's go, idiot!" He spat and grabbed her arm, pulling her away harshly.
☆☆☆
The three Queens of Edessa were standing behind the Emperor as he went through tons of letter on his desk.
The king was sent a letter from the neighbouring kingdom, and from the look on his face, it wasn't a good one.
He raised his chin with his brows looking farrow and thick with anger.
" When did they sent this letter over?" He asked, talking to his closest officials.
" I just received it this morning, Your Royal highness" The official said.
" The Nevada are only trying to pull our legs. Inform the boys at the Knight Yard, tell them their training begins tomorrow morning. I smell war"
" Yes, king. I'll do just that" He nodded with a quick bow before leaving the courtyard.
The first queen took her step towards the King and the other two followed immediately. This three women envy eachother so badly that they stopped their kids from associating and make also share that enmity.
Surprisingly, the three were all sisters, married to one king.
" His Royal highness" Queen Jisoo said as she took a short bow before him.
" Do you need someone to massage your feet, king?" The other queen, Erica asked, as she stooped low to her knee.
" Does his feet seem or look sour?" Xora asked with a glare as she stepped forward to join them.
" I wasn't talking to you!. Mind your business!" Erica spat.
" My business is with the king, and you're interfering as well" Xora said with a mischievous smile.
" Your highness, Are you not going to send this two troublesome heads away." Jisoo asked.
" The king can't send his favourite away, right darling?" Erica smiled, throwing her hair aside sassily.
" You're merely he's headache, Erica" Xora spat.
The king sighed as he rubbed his temples impatiently.
" His Royal highness" Xora smiled, sharing a seat with him.
" How dare you even share a seat with the king!!, I am the first queen here. I deserve to share the royal bench with him!" Jisoo yelled.
" I didn't meet you sitting here" Xora spat.
" I also have the right to sit next to my husband so move over" Erica included, dropping her hat on the floor.
" Do you both want to die?" Xora yelled, widening her arms to take in the space.
" Your highness, Are you not saying anything?!. Can't you see they're intentionally taking my place!" Jisoo began muttering and the king felt he had had enough.
He stood up.
" Would you ladies stop this indifference!" He thundered and the ladies instantly stood up, standing next to eachother.
" Leave!" He ordered and they all looked at eachother.
" All three of you!" He yelled and they quickly went through different directions.
The king sighed and rested back on his sofa.
" The problem around me is enough to make me die within twenty four hours. I just hope they wouldn't be the end of me soon" He said with a tired sigh.
He snapped his fingers and a young woman came running towards him.
" Yes, His royal highness" She bowed.
" And You are??"
" The head mistress, Vivian"
"Get my bathing water ready" He said.
" What spice, Your highness?" She asked and the king was about to speak when the front door was pushed open.
it caught his attention and He sat up to meet a guard walking in and pulling Hani along.
" His Royal highness!" He gave a chest bow.
" Who do we have here?. Who's this cute little thing?" The king asked, rubbing his beards as he stared at her.
" She was caught stealing in the local market this evening. It was reported that stuffs have been going missing for weeks and she's behind it all" He said, and the King's mood changed.
" So you steal?" The king turned to ask hani and her face fell sadly.
" I was doing it cos we were poor and i had nothing to eat" She pouted, rubbing her wet cheeks.
" You are not the only poor person in Odessa. If stealing was the only option for poor people, then everything would go missing in a day. Are you aware of that?" He asked.
" I'm so sorry, I had no option. No one was kind enough to give us food even when we begged" She said crying.
" And now my dad isn't here with me. He must have died by now. He's not here as he had promised" Her heart squeezed in pain as she spoke.
" You can cry all you want, little girl but crime offenders are not going scot free as far as I'm concerned" He spat and hani's throat went dry.
The guard turned to the king.
" What should we do to her?" He asked.
" Report her to the chief commander. He'll know what to do to her" He said, and Vivian, the head mistress gasped.
" Take her out now!. Let her face the consequences of her action" The king ordered and the guard pulled hani, taking her to another direction inside the palace.
****
< KNIGHT QUATERS>
The officials stopped at the gate of the Knight quarters and met with a guard.
" Where are the boys?." He asked.
" It's 7pm. They've all left the field towards their rooms and prepare for the night" The guard said.
" And Ian?. Where's he?"
" He left" The guard said.
" And You let him??!!" The official turned red.
" The Third princess asked for him, I had no choice than to let him go" He said and a hot sigh left his nostril.
" Fine" He said.
He scanned the entire field before turning to look at the guard.
" Inform them that their skill fighting practice would start early tomorrow morning"
" Okay" The guard replied.
" Inform them right away" He said and the guard scouted before walking away.
The officials looked around again.
" That stupid kid, Ian, would always go beyond his boundaries even after all my rules." He spat before walking away.
***
< lll PRINCESS BEDROOM>
Ian pulled the door to the princess room slowly before getting in.
He had taken off his Knight costume and was now putting on a plane robe and a thin scarf around his forehead.
The Third princess, formally named Aurora, was sitting near her mirror. She's wearing a silk, exposed dress.
She noticed Ian's presence and a sweet smile crept up on her lips.
" Ian, sweetheart" She smiled, cupping her cheeks.
Ian stopped in his track as he looked at her from behind. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was a princess, she was supposed to be covered.
" You sent for me" He said.
" Such a majestic voice" She whispered to herself before turning her neck around.
" Oh yea, Come over" She gestured with her fingers sexily.
" I..I..don't think it's right to move any further. You are not covered. I shouldn't even be here" He said.
" It doesn't matter cos I'll be inviting you everyday from now on" She said.
" Please don't" He said.
" You can't tell me what to do. I'm the princess, you must do whatever I say" She said and his chin slowly fell.
" Come over quickly. Come apply me some body gel" She said.
Ian walked closer and picked up her body gel from the table. He picked some content in his hands and rubbed his palm together.
She stared at him from the mirror reflection and smiled sweetly and Ian slowly looked away.
" Are you shy of maintaining eye Contact with me?. Am I that beautiful?" She smiled, turning to look at his face.
" Are you ready to get the body gel or not?" He asked impatiently.
" Sure" She smiled and took off the dress strap off her shoulders gently.
Ian gulped in a little before touching her skin with his cold fingertips, sending a shiver down her spine.
" Mnn" She smiled. " It's tickles"
Ian digged his hand deeper into her flesh and her eyes flew open instantly.
" Ian?" She gasped.
He started to massage her body hardly and it turned into a torture in the next minute. she began to wince.
" Stop!. Stop!!" She yelled and stood up. " Why are you being so hard?. Is your hand made of steel??!" She yelled, smoke running out of her nose.
" I'm only doing the job you asked me to do" He said calmly.
" But..." She walked forward manipulatively and looked at his eyes. " Can't you be a little bit soft, handsome?. I'm a princess, not a regular maid" She blinked.
Ian blinked a few times before stepping back a bit.
" I have to go. The guards gave me limited time here with you"
" Wait, Stop!" She clutched his coat before he could leave and then she pushed him towards the dressing table.
There, she fell on his hard chest.
The door opened and the third Prince, Shaman, walked in quickly and sighted their duo.
" What's happening here?!" He asked and Aurora left Ian's arm quickly.
" Nothing!. Why are you here in my room anyways?" She asked.
" So you invited a random guy into your room, Huh?. So the rumors were true??"
" He's only helping me out with a few things!" She said.
Ian came into their midst humbly.
" I'll be leaving, princess" He made a short bow before getting out of the room.
Shaman glared at his sister and Aurora folded her hands.
" You can glare all you want. I already given names to the future unborn babies I'll have Ian." She scoffed and Shaman jaw dropped.
***
Hani was still walking beside the guard, her hand was behind her back as he led her away.
She hadn't said any word since she left. She looked up and saw that the guard wasn't paying attention to her and a thought crossed her mind.
She stopped in her track but the guard was still walking further away.
She slowly stepped back and turned away, running as fast as she could.
The guard noticed it and started chasing her.
" Hey!. Hey!!!" The guards yelled.
Hani ran very fast, hoping she would find a miraculous path to escape from here.
She was running down the palace compound when she collided into Ian.
" Please hide me. The guard is coming for me. Hide me, please!" She sobbed and Ian looked at her in a confused state.
He looked up only to see six other guards coming after her.
" Oh No, He's coming!. He's coming!!" Hani screamed.
Some maids were carrying the King's hot bathing water, leading it up to his chamber.
Hani incidentally pushed Ian and they both fell into the water near them at once.
The guards all stopped in their tracks.
" What the....??"