CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Baek-Hyun went to the training ground; a place she could pour out her frustration on but it wasn't helping. She kept hitting the target over and over again but she wasn't satisfied, she wanted to hear the object yell out in pain so she would feel better. Luckily for her, Chi-Mae went to the same place and immediately Baek-Hyun saw him, she wanted to leave but Chi-Mae didn't allow her. "Don't let whatever they say get into your head as long as it isn't true." Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun felt guilty; if only he knew that they were true but she was only hurt about being reminded often about the awful person she was. "I challenge you to a fight". She said to Chi-Mae who smiled thinking she was joking until she picked a sword and she also tossed a sword at him. "are you serious?". He asked her but Baek-Hyun started attacking. For almost half an hour, Chi-Mae only blocked Baek-Hyun's attacks and it was pissing her off. She got flared up and she threw her sword at him and the sword gave him a slight cut on his hand. "stop fooling around with me and attack already". Baek-Hyun yelled in frustration. "are you serious?". Chi-Mae asked her and as a respond, she punched him hard on his face.

Now, Aya was coming out of the healing chamber, she had been discharged. She was walking care freely with her maids but when she heard Baek-Hyun yell, she stopped in her track and she started walking to the direction of the training field. She was shocked to know that it was their General that Baek-Hyun was yelling at. She sent her maids away immediately. "so she even yells at him and he does nothing about it". She said quietly to herself. - he has been with her all day long and I have been at the healer's and he never stopped by - She thought to herself. She became furious watching them but yet, she couldn't stop watching. Meanwhile, Chi-Mae begun fighting with Baek-Hyun for real. He didn't give her a chance to breath as he endlessly attacked. All of a sudden, Baek-Hyun hit the sword out of his hand and she also threw her own down. "armless right?". Chi-Mae asked and Baek-Hyun shrugged. She pounced on him but he caught her in the air and dropped her down gently. She frowned at his action and she jumped again. This time, she intended to spear him but he took a step away from his former position and Baek-Hyun fell hard on the ground. She had a boil on her forehead as she curled up. Princess Aya smiled to herself from her hide out. "that serves her right." She said to herself with a scornful smile. Chi-Mae on the other side went closer to Baek-Hyun and squat beside her but she kicked him down and she sat on top of him and she removed a silver hairpin from her hair and put it on his neck. She was breathing hard and her hair covered her face. Aya saw that and became alerted, she wanted to run out and kill her straight but then she saw Chi-Mae removing the strands of hairs that covered Baek-Hyun's face and he tugged it behind her ears then he curbed her cheek. Aya became weak in the knees as she watched Chi-Mae and Baek-Hyun, she felt like she should be the one with the hairpin and Baek-Hyun was before her. She would have stabbed the living daylight out of her. "you are really strong; you can't let mere words destroy your strength". Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun's hands weakened. "I'm sorry about Wang, he has a big mouth". Chi-Mae said again and tears made Baek-Hyun's eyes to shine. She became so weak and Chi-Mae noticed that so he took the chance and flipped her over and in the next second, she was underneath him and the hairpin was now in his hand. Baek-Hyun's face dimmed, she didn't know Chi-Mae was taking advantage of her weakness. "you used me". She said as more tears made her eyes a river. "no, I was teaching you how not to be weak and unfortunately, you got weak again". He said to her but Baek-Hyun furiously gave him another punch on his face. "ouch". Chi-Mae groaned in pain. "Get off me". Baek-Hyun said gently at first but when Chi-Mae was still on top of her, she yelled again. "Baek-Hyun chill out; I didn't mean to mess with you …. I'm sorry and besides, I was just trying to make you learn not to fall for word". Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun stared at him calmly. She didn't know how to react to the situation anymore so she just let Chi-Mae to mess with her, when he saw that she had become vulnerable, he wiped tears and got off her but she still laid flat still. He gave her a hand and she took it and got up. Princess Aya was furious, tears of anger filled her eyes and her head ached severely. Now, Lady Bong Cha just got of the dinning chamber and she saw the Princess looking worked up about something. She decided to take a closer look at what was making her so pissed off so the woman walked to her hiding point and looked into the open space where she was looking at. Princess Aya was startled to see Lady Bong Cha there. She got so agitated and she walked away angrily. Lady Bong Cha stared intensely at Chi-Mae and Baek-Hyun then she stared at the angry Princess. She already suspected that the Princess liked the General but she just confirmed her suspicion. She looked at Chi-Mae again and then at Baek-Hyun. She didn't forbid their union but she hoped that Baek-Hyun will not jilt their General because clearly, Chi-Mae was a love lone, it was clear that Baek-Hyun was extra smarter than him in the area of controlling how she felt while Chi-Mae just poured out his feelings without bias. The woman walked away, she will have to talk to the Princess before she will do something stupid. "there is a feast tonight so there will be no practice". Chi-Mae said to Baek-Hyun. "Why did you cancel practice? The feast doesn't stop us from practicing". Baek-Hyun asked. "will you follow me to the marble river?". Chi-Mae asked and Baek-Hyun smiled. "really?". She asked childishly and Chi-Mae nodded. "go get some sleep, sleepy head". Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun laughed. It was the first time that he had seen her laugh for real but she was still waiting for his first real laugh. "Chi-Mae, I want to tell you something". Baek-Hyun said with a dimmed face. She hoped it will end well. For her, it looked like the perfect time to tell him the truth about herself. "what is wrong? Are you okay?". Chi-Mae asked already worried and Baek-Hyun gave him a nervous smile. "I… Chi-Mae…". Baek-Hyun didn't know how to start. Her eyes were already tearing up. But just when she had summoned enough courage, "General, your presence is needed before the king". a soldier said to Chi-Mae. "I'll be on my way". Chi-Mae said to the soldier and her left. "Baek-Hyun, you can talk to me about it later okay?". Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun nodded and he left. She was relieved, it was as if a drum filled with rocks had just been lifted of her chest. She was really suffocating telling Chi-Mae the truth.

Baek-Hyun went back to her chamber. She was really tired, she remembered that Chi-Mae had hit her for a couple of time and she was feeling the impact of all of it right then. The white gown she wore was now brownish in colour. Her head ached like hell for a while until she closed her eyes and after a while, she could no longer feel the pain because she was in the dream world. For hours, Baek-Hyun kept sleeping, and she had dreams in series. First she dreamt about her mother, then she dreamt about Ji-Seok and how it fell and the Emperor Woong became their General but the last dream she had was the most frightening one of all. ~ Baek-Hyun rode into the gate of Gi kingdom with a package in her hand. There were jubilations everywhere and Emperor Woong awaited her with a creepy smile on his face. Baek-Hyun threw down the package to the ground before the Emperor then she climbed down her horse and stood before the Emperor. She was now the Empress of Gi kingdom and everyone bowed to her glory. But something was wrong, as the Emperor opened the package and looked into it, his face dimmed and then he became furious. "seize her at once". The Emperor ordered and immediately, Baek-Hyun was seized, she had brought a head that wasn't Chi-Mae's head and the Emperor discovered. She thought that the make-up was enough to hide the identity of the head. She had killed a Gi soldier and brought his head after putting some make up on the head to that it will look like Chi-Mae's. "Kill them all". The Emperor yelled and right then, all the Ji-Seok slaves were killed one after the other. Hana's head was being cut off and Kyong was torn apart by horses riding at opposite directions. Man-Chun was hanged and everyone was dead. "you dare defile my orders". The Emperor yelled at Baek-Hyun and then he tossed a dagger at her and the dagger stabbed her on her chest and then her body was thrown into a river~ then a loud knock on the door woke Baek-Hyun up screaming. The chamber was dark and she was sweating profusely. Her heart beat as if it would jump out of her chest. "It's just a nightmare". She said to herself while breathing heavily. Then she heard a knock on the door again. "come in". Baek-Hyun said and the maids rushed into the chamber. "My Lady, are you okay?". One of them asked with worry. "yeah, please light the candles". Baek-Hyun said and the maid obliged. "the party is almost starting and we need to get you in your armour". Another maid said as she walked into the bathroom to prepare a hot back for Baek-Hyun. "no, I need a cold bath". Baek-Hyun said and the maid nodded. After bathing, Baek-Hyun was made to choose a dress and she choose a white flowing dress, almost like the one she was wearing but that one was branded and more luxurious. It had tiny diamonds on it which was used to line the whole cloth. The cloth wasn't as revealing as the rest of the cloth that she usually had to wear. It had a simple style with a long hand sleeve that was off shoulders. The upper part to her waist was tight on her and the rest of the lower was free. "thank you, you may go now". she said to the maids after they finished dressing her and they left. She walked to her bed and under it, she pulled out a brand new dagger. It was the one that Emperor Woong gave her. She stared at it with shaky hands then she slipped the dagger into her dress. She knew it had to be tonight or she was doomed for life. When she had summoned enough courage, she walked out majestically and headed for the feasting hall. All the while, she never forgot about her nightmare. She was nervous about meeting Chi-Mae, about knowing her fate after he finds her out tonight, about seeing his face when he finds that he has been jilted. Her knees were weak and her head spun. She held the pillar for support as she staggered to the hall.

Aya had arrived the feast early, all determined to take what she thought was rightfully hers. She wore a wine coloured dress with V shaped opening that exposed her neck and bare chest to her belly. Part of her breasts were exposed. Adding to that, there was a split on the left side of the lower part of the gown so that her thighs were all exposed. She looked so breath taking as she approached Chi-Mae. "hello General". She greeted Chi-Mae with a bright smile that wasn't completely innocent. "Princess". Chi-Mae said already getting fade up talking to her. "you don't look so good, come on let me make you feel". Aya said as she took his hands and placed it on her waist but Chi-Mae shifted away and removed his hands. "Aya, do not start". Chi-Mae said calmly. "don't tell me it is that foreign whore that is making you this worked up, she isn't here Chi-Mae and I am here". Princess Aya half yelled. "do not call her that again, her name is Baek-Hyun". Chi-Mae said with a mild flare and made to walk away but Aya held him back. "tell me what she has done to you and I will undo it immediately Chi-Mae". Princess Aya said sounding worried. "Aya, I know you do not like her and I don't care why because it doesn't matter but you have to stay away from her, it's natural to avoid things that we don't like". Chi-Mae said and Princess Aya smirked. "you mean the same way you avoid me?". She asked with hurt in her voice. "we shouldn't go down that part Aya, I never said I'm in love with her, do not attack her". Chi-Mae warned. "then tell me what Chi-Mae, tell me what you are doing with her, she yells at you, disrespect you, fight you yet all I do is the opposite but you do not take notice of me, am I not attractive enough?". Aya asked desperately. She was beginning to feel hurt but it pained her more because Chi-Mae was responsible for it. "you are beautiful Aya, you are strong and above all brave, you will find love when you meet the right person, I can't give you all the love you need and everyone knows that love can't be forced, it is natural, forget about me". Chi-Mae said but she misunderstood him. "come on Chi-Mae, the same love you give to Baek-Hyun is what I need, it is enough for me". She said sounding frustrated. "Aya, I do not give love to Baek-Hyun, I teach her, she was victimised and just like you were a year ago when we lost our parents, she is weak. All I do is teach her to be strong like you are, just like I thought you three years ago, trust me, the very same way I thought you is how I am teaching Baek-Hyun the only difference is that the way she responds differs from the way you responded and I have to follow her up okay?". Chi-Mae said the longest words he had ever said in months. "no Chi-Mae, I know what we shared these three years was love but you let that foreigner come into our picture and ruin it, you treated me special and told me so many times that I am special". Aya nearly cried. "Aya, I treat you special because you are the best and because you are the princess but above all, you are special to me because you are Young-Jae's sister and you know how we are. You are special but that doesn't mean I am in love with you, wake up from your fantasy". Chi-Mae said raising his voice. "Chi-Mae, but what about how I feel?". Aya asked with flickers of tears in her eyes. "Aya". Chi-Mae called and walked closer to her then put his hand on her shoulder. "you are like a younger sister to me, you have to get over whatever you are feeling because I don't feel the same about you or anyone else". Chi-Mae said calmly to her. "Chi-Mae…". Aya called in shock but Chi-Mae cut her off. "that is an order Aya, get over it". He said again and Aya stared at him for a while. Tears rolled down her face and she retrieved her step one after the other and then she turned around and rushed out of the hall. Chi-Mae was worried about her. He had suspected her feelings for him but he didn't know it was that strong. He was sorry about her but then his thought shifted back to Baek-Hyun. Was he really giving her only lessons? Was he really not in love with that girl. He took a seat and started sipping strong alcoholic drink. "General". Lady Bong Cha greeted with a bow. "Lady Bong Cha". Chi-Mae acknowledged. "I saw Princess Aya leaving the party, is everything alright?". The woman asked with worry. "I do not know Lady Bong Cha, I told her to get over her feelings for me". Chi-Mae said easily to the woman. After his mom and dad died, Chi-Mae had become close to Lady Bong Cha, she was a mother figure to him so it was easy for him to tell him anything that was bugging him. "you didn't notice she liked you?". she asked him and he nodded. "boys never do". The woman said with a smile. "so what about Baek-Hyun?". Lady Bong Cha asked him again. "I haven't seen her; I think I'll go check on her". Chi-Mae replied sounding worried suddenly. "do you like her". She asked cautiously and Chi-Mae stared at her with nervousness. He couldn't answer the question because he didn't know the answer. "speaking of the devil". Chi-Mae heard Lady Bong Cha say and he looked up and traced her eyes. It was Baek-Hyun. She looked like a water goddess. She was standing by the door and looking around. She didn't look so good, her face was pale and she was whiter than normal. Lady Bong Cha took the time to study Chi-Mae's facial expression and she shook her head with a knowing smile on her lips. "Chi-Mae, no one forces love, follow your heart and everything will be alright". She said to the drooling Chi-Mae and walked away.

Baek-Hyun walked into the hall staring at everywhere nervously. She wanted to avoid Chi-Mae until it was time for her to strike unknown to her that Chi-Mae has already seen her. He was walking towards her to take her from the door but she was still searching the farther part of the hall. "Baek-Hyun". Chi-Mae called and she was startled. "oh my, General". Baek-Hyun said at once. "what took you so long?". Chi-Mae asked sounding worried. "I over slept". She said truthfully. "come over here, the feast begun a while ago". Chi-Mae said to her and she walked down the stairs majestically. When she reached the last step, Chi-Mae held out his hands to her and she took it and got down. "I'll just say hi to the King then I'll be back". Baek-Hyun said and without waiting for Chi-Mae's response, she left and after the king, she walked to Chi-Mae's brothers-in-arms and said hi to them. they welcomed her warmly but Wang acted as if she was invisible. She walked back to Chi-Mae and he offered her wine. "you are good at walking a party". He complimented and she smiled. "so can we leave now?" Chi-Mae asked and Baek-Hyun nodded. They walked out of the hall together and to the stable. Baek-Hyun had totally forgot that they had to go to the Marble river. Soon they were riding away. Baek-Hyun held onto Chi-Mae as if her life depended on it. Chi-Mae didn't ride the horse as fast as he did on the first day because of Baek-Hyun and she was glad that he remembered. After a longer ride than the first day due to their speed, they finally arrived. Baek-Hyun was mesmerized by what she saw. It was true what Chi-Mae said. The river was magnificent in the night. It was glittering; all the marbles were glowing brightly and the river was…. no word is beautiful enough to describe the sight. Chi-Mae stared at Baek-Hyun as she admired the river. She looked so elegant in the white dress. "I love this place Chi-Mae, it's beautiful". Baek-Hyun said. The expression on her face, Chi-Mae thought was priceless and he wanted to see more of it on her beautiful face. "you look as beautiful as those glowing marbles if not more beautiful". Chi-Mae said with what could be called passion in his eyes. "most people say you a spy, others say a witch". Chi-Mae said with a smile. "I've heard that before". Baek-Hyun said with a nearly faded smile. "but I do not think so". Chi-Mae said and Baek-Hyun became suddenly interested. "then what am I?". she asked sounding interested. "I think you are brave, you do unbelievable things and you don't cease to amuse me each day". Chi-Mae said looking serious and Baek-Hyun smiled. "I don't believe what they say about you because you have proven to me that you can be a lot but not a spy or a witch and I trust you". Chi-Mae said again. The smile on Baek-Hyun's face slowly faded away. Her heart started beating crazily and her throat was dry, she turned and walked closer to the river back then she took off her shoe and she walked into the water. The tails of her gown were soaked by the water. "Are you okay?", Chi-Mae asked her as he also joined her in the water. "Chi-Mae, I need to tell you something". She said and turned to him at once. "I don't know how you're going to react after hearing this but please, listen to me till the end okay?". She asked and Chi-Mae nodded. "promise me Chi-Mae, promise me". She said and held his hands and he did promise her. "I… Chi-Mae, do you kill all the spies that come here?". She asked him nervously. "not all but mostly". He replied and waited patiently for the dumb Baek-Hyun to start talking and after a while of drowning silence, Baek-Hyun finally began talking. "there was a girl in a kingdom far away who was I could say is skilled in fighting and flying arrows is her supernatural powers, she was the perfect daughter in her family and she thought she hated her parent until she lost them. Their kingdom was under attack and many people were killed including their king. She never got to even see her father's corpse and her mother was killed right in front of her, leaving behind her brother and her sister. She was lucky to have them left because many other people had nothing left. They were taken captive and the girls that were thought to be pretty enough were kept aside while the rest were thrown into the dungeon. Soon all the girls were prepared to get married to the king. Some were chosen as wives, others as concubines. The girl strived hard not to be chosen as any but in the kingdom, everything literally had a penalty so being disqualified meant death". Baek-Hyun stopped to breath and sniff, she was getting to the hooking part of the story and her heart sunk, tears like a river rolled down her face. Chi-Mae was listening with great interest to hear where the story would end. He was already suspecting foul in the story but he listened patiently because he had promised her. Then Baek-Hyun turned to him and stared at him. "some weeks after the Paebaek, one by one, the concubines were all disappearing and the ones that came back alive without completing the said task were killed with the remaining family in the most brutal way that can be thought of at the moment and those who never returned, their families were melted in hot caldrons. No one knew what was going on until it was their turn. then finally, it was the girl's turn." Baek-Hyun stopped to sniff and she wiped her face but the tears rolled down again. She reached for her dress and she removed the dagger and she held it with shaky hands. "she was given a dagger and sent on a long journey to … to kill… to kill a certain man in another land far away…. The man was a general in a faraway land…" She said with more sobbing, Chi-Mae's face turned pale, his hair stood and finally, he began feeling the cold at the riverside. "that man is me and that girl is you isn't it?". Chi-Mae asked and Baek-Hyun's hands weakened; she could no longer hold the dagger and it fell off her hands. "Chi-Mae please, you promised to hear my story till the end". Baek-Hyun pleaded but Chi-Mae retrieved his steps. "there is nothing to hear no more. You lied to me". Chi-Mae said coldly. "I'm sorry". Baek-Hyun cried out. "you made a fool of me all these while and you plan my downfall. You lied about your identity and you creeped your way into my heart". Chi-Mae yelled. "no Chi-Mae, I didn't do that, I can't do it that is why I am telling you now". Baek-Hyun said desperately but Chi-Mae was already walking away. "Aya was right about you after all, you are indeed a foreign whore and you know what else? You… you are done for; you'd better run before the news gets out". Chi-Mae said and climbed on his horse. "Chi-Mae I'm sorry". Baek-Hyun cried out as she ran after him but he was gone. "Chi-Mae". Baek-Hyun whispered to herself. She felt like she was suffocating. Her heart sunk and tightened. Everywhere seemed to be mad at her and her hair stood, her vision was blur and her steps were unsteady. She could no longer walk so she stopped walking and she fell to her knees. - "you dare defile my orders" - Baek-Hyun heard Emperor Woong's voice yell at her but she was too weak to walk anymore. She cried till there was nothing left to cry again so she faded on the spot.