Surprise

Dae-Hyun

I had to get out of the room. My heart was beating so loudly I was surprised she didn't hear it. Maybe she did, and that's why I was afraid.

"She hasn't eaten a proper meal in weeks? How is that even possible? Is she trying to become human or is she really trying hard to stay out of sight." I whispered to myself as I stalked off toward the throne room.

Gon stood at the end of the hallway chatting with a couple of his men before I snapped my finger and pointed at him, signaling for him to approach.

"Dae-"

I pressed my finger to my lips and shook my head before turning around and walking toward the garden. A secluded area I used to visit often for some privacy.

Neither one of us spoke a word the entire walk there. Our hastened footsteps were soundless as we both had mastered the skill of essential light-footed steps.

"What is it? What happened? You wandered off this morning before anyone was awake." He pressed.

"She's here." I sneered coldly as I turned to face him. "Who gave you those arrows?" I asked, venom lacing my tone.

Gon knitted his brow and cocked his head at me. "What do you mean? What happened? Why is she here? Wait how the hell did you-"

"Gon, I asked you a fucking question. Who gave you the arrows?"

"It was the magistrate. They told me you had left and I figured you could use them since you were out by yourself. Why?"

I shoved his shoulder and pointed at him as I spewed my anger in the lowest tone I could without attracting any attention. "They knew something was gonna happen or there was a high chance of me finding this woman. That arrow was laced in toxins. If I didn't find her when I did she would have died. And I would have blamed myself and then you."

Gon's eyes widened, "That fucking bastard. Where is the woman? Is she okay? Who else knows she's here?"

A consort walked by, a fan covering half of her face as she sped walked past us. Her gaze fixated on us. Two different colored eyes told me she had to be the lemur. The woman clicked her tongue as her head snapped in the opposite direction.

"Gon, go and release the shifters. I need you to do it quickly with the highest level of discretion." I whispered to him. "I also need you to bring me the hearts and livers from two of the cattle we have."

Gon's face contorted into confusion. "Should I even ask?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, shaking my head. "No, just go. Report back when those are done. And quickly please." I replied and stalked off back toward the room where I had left Eun-Ae.

By the time we had managed to get everything in order, it was late in the day. The sun was descending the skies as the moon peeked out from behind the mountains.

"Your majesty, where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you." One of the eunuchs shouted from across the opened courtyard.

"I've been busy. Not everyone needs to know where the hell I'm at all day." I shouted back. "Idiot." I grumbled and turned down the last hallway to her room and saw one of my sentinels standing by the door with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Your majesty, why didn't you tell us you slept in another room? Was it with a concubine perhaps?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes, "Will you mind your business and get out of here?" I scoffed as I moved him out of the way of the door. I grabbed the handle and felt his presence push closer to me. I stopped and turned around. "I will have you beheaded. Go."

"Oh, come on. Let us have a look at the lucky lady." He pressed with excitement.

"There isn't anyone here! Now go!" I turned around and opened the door to see that the bed was made and Eun-Ae was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose inside of me as I huffed, moving away from the door. "See? No one is here. Now go away." I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

I scanned the room and began looking under objects she could have possibly used to hide and to no avail. "Where did she go?" I whispered.

The low chitter sounded from under the bed as a white tail swept the floor before disappearing under it again. I released a long breath of relief and smiled. She didn't escape. Granted, it would be difficult during the day. Nonetheless, I was happy she stayed and was willing to accept my help.

I knelt beside the bed, peering under it. I could see her little form curled into a ball. Her golden irises stared back at me. "Why are you under there?"

"Are they gone?" She chittered and slowly uncurled herself. Her little nose wiggled as she sniffed.

I extended my hand to her. I knew she needed to confirm my scent before she would come out. "Yeah, they're gone. Did someone else come in here while I was out?" I asked.

Eun-Ae's wet nose pressed against my palm as she sniffed. Letting out a huff she inched her way toward me and poked her head out from under the bed. "Someone knocked, before they opened the door I hid… I don't like the smell of that man. Even his aura is dark." She chattered at me before a shadow appeared by the door.

"Dae, I got what you asked for." Gon whispered.

I glanced at the door then back to Eun before I rose, "I have something for you." I opened the door and pulled Gon in quickly. Keeping his back to Eun-Ae I held him by his shoulders, "Do not yell, scream, or raise your voice." I commanded.

He nodded before I released him and grabbed the large wax paper package from him before approaching the bed. I plopped down on the floor and beckoned for Gon to sit.

"Eun-Ae, this is Gon… he's my best friend and he's the general of my army. He… brought you something." I placed my hand back under the bed for her to sniff my hand again. "You can come out.…."

She let out the cutest little whine before she cautiously poked her head out, ears perked. "Do I have to shift or can I stay like this?" She glanced up at me, chattering.

"You can stay like that. I do not think he's going to mind." I stroked her head, earning me a hiss of satisfaction.

"Wait, you can understand her?" Gon whispered loudly. 

"Yeah, can't you?" I raised a brow at him. 

He shook his head, "No human that hasn't gained their trust can understand them. Which means she trusts you enough for you to understand her in that form." He pointed at her.

I nodded and opened the package. Two livers and two large hearts sat in the paper. These were fresh as the organs were still warm. "How did you get these so quickly?" I asked, cocking my head at him. 

Gon shrugged. "I have my ways." He smirked.

Eun-Ae pawed my leg before she crawled out from her spot. "Are those for me?" Her plumage combined into a singular tail, curling around her.

I set the package down in front of her and urged her to eat. "Yes, because you shouldn't have to starve yourself."

Her eyes watered as she stared at me before she glanced at Gon. "You, I don't know who you are… but thank you."

Gon looked to me for the translation.

"She says thank you." I shrugged my shoulders and smiled at him.

"Oh, your most welcome miss-"

"Eun-Ae. Her name is Eun-Ae." I chimed in. 

He smiled and nodded, "Eun-Ae, that's a pretty name."

I smiled and glanced back at her as she carefully pulled a heart off of the paper and began ripping into it with ease. Her paws and snout were drenched in blood as she finished off the second heart and both livers.

My heart fluttered in my chest as I watched her devour her food, knowing that she wasn't starving herself. Maybe it would help her heal.

"Eun-Ae, can you shift to your side so I can check on your leg?" I asked as I reached over to scratch behind her ears. 

She busied herself with grooming as she turned her backside to me and moved her tail out of the way of her thigh. I reached over and began trying to separate her fur to see her skin but to no avail.

I clicked my tongue. With the amount of fur she had, I wasn't able to see her leg properly. "Ah… I hate to ask but.…."

"Give me a second to finish cleaning this up… I look like a bloody mess.…." 

"We can always go to the baths if you want to…." I offered.

Gon sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, "Not during the day. I'd suggest waiting til nightfall so she can move through here without being seen. Granted the sun is almost down-" 

I watched her ears shift toward Gon as he spoke, her eyes focused on me, seemingly asking for permission.

I thought for a moment before I shook my head. "Nevermind, it's too dangerous for you to be walking around regardless of the time of day."

Her ears dropped in disappointment as she turned away from me. "A hot bath does sound nice."

"C'mon Dae, one bath isn't going to hurt. I'll make sure everyone stays clear of the area while you two are there."

"Wow… you two.…." I rolled my eyes and turned to her. "Let me see your leg and I'll think about it."

Her ears shot back up as she stood up. Her body turned to face me, "You mean it? This isn't some sort of trick?" She chattered as her tails flared in excitement.

I nodded, "I mean it. Now, let me see." I pushed myself from the floor, dusting my hands.

She looked at Gon then back at me before she turned around again and shifted. Her hair covered her upper torso as her tails concealed her backside and lower legs. "Um, where did you want me to sit?" Her shy voice was honestly the cutest thing I've heard.

I pointed to the bed and stood between her and Gon to help hide her nudity from him. To my surprise, she didn't shy away from me when I knelt in front of her as she sat with her left side facing me.

I never got the opportunity to look at Eun-Ae's face until now as she pulled her hair over to the right shoulder, revealing her entire left side to me. Her cheeks held a light pink hue. Eun-Ae's petite nose was perfectly placed on her face as her grey eyes averted my gaze as best they could.

I gently moved one of her tails out of the way as I inspected her thigh. My fingertips grazing over her skin ever so delicately. The wound was no longer there. It was gone, not even a scar remained in its place.

I was shocked. "Well it looks like we get to go to the royal baths." I smiled up at her. 

Eun-Ae bowed her head to me and shifted her gaze to mine. Our eyes locked. Her plump pink lips parted as her breath hitched. She quickly rose to her feet and gave me a toothy grin.  Her hair concealed her chest past her navel. I could feel the heat creep into my cheeks as I quickly turned around and coughed to distract myself from my arousal.

"Gon, you can go now. I'm going to let her rest. Make sure the sentinels, magistrate, hell anyone doesn't come down here. Oh, and tell the doctor he's not needed anymore." I placed my hands on my hips as I tried to shake the mental image of her figure out of my head.

"Yeah, I can do that. I'll see you two later." He rose and bowed his head before exiting the room. "Hey, stay out of this hallway or you'll be beheaded!" He shouted as his heavy footsteps faded.

I facepalmed and shook my head as I turned around only to find that Eun-Ae had fallen asleep. I scanned over her petite frame as two of her tails covered her breasts and pelvic area.

"Poor girl has had a rough couple of days." I thought as I sighed and reached down to scoop her into my arms so I could adjust her.

She let out a low whimper and tucked her head into my chest. "Eun-Ae, I have some things to attend to. I'll be back soon. As soon as I leave I'll lock the door to make sure no one comes in here. Is that okay?" 

She nodded, curling into a ball as I had set her down on the bed, closest to the wall. I pulled the blanket over her, leaving her head out as her ears remained perked. It wasn't long before her soft snores filled my ears. I smiled as I tiptoed out of the room, closing the door as quietly as I could before locking it. 

I sighed as my stomach growled. I had forgotten to eat lunch and breakfast at this point, and dinner was around the corner. I shook my head and headed toward my throne room.

"Your majesty…" a woman approached me, her upper torso bowed at an almost 90-degree angle.

I raided my brow. This woman never approached me let alone spoke a word to me prior to this. "What do you need?" I said with a cold tone.

"Half of the harem was released. I wanted to make sure the order was clear." She straightened her posture with her hands folded in front of her.

"That's correct." I stated and continued walking, only to have the senate approach me with haste.

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!" Bool-He tried to act as if he were actually worried about me. But I knew what he was up to and did not give in to his bullshit tactics.

"I went out for a bit this morning and decided to sleep in another room because you guys are like flies on a cow's ass." I sneered at him. "Have my dinner brought to my room."

"We need to discuss a letter we received." Another member stated.

My brow furrowed. "Bring it to my room. We will discuss this then." I pushed through the group and around the next corner.