【A Maiden's Love】

11

十一

Cold water was splashed onto my face, instantly waking me up as I opened my eyes slightly. The sudden action made the blood rush to my head, and the past feelings of dizziness and fatigue came back to me as I was still tied up to the post behind me, still without food or water.

I saw a soldier standing in the back as he held an empty bucket, and then to the person next to him... slowly blinking my eyes as my vision started to focus on his face.

The prince of Baekje looked back at me... wearing a rather smug expression on his face, as he saw how badly my condition was in this state of being out here from the night before.

Even though I was tired, hungry, and hurt from being tied up tightly, I made the effort to glare back at him, hoping with my expression he would know how much I had despised him. 

He leaned closer to my face, and fixed his attention on my lips before he looked up to my eyes... and smirked as he turned and grabbed basket that a guard was holding up for him.

"I'm sure after standing here all night... you must be very hungry by now," He said as he brought the basket up and lifted the lid off of it, and rich, warm aromas began to float in the air... making my stomach grumble from the delicious smells of the food.

He picked a cake filled with sweet and soft red bean paste from the basket, and raised it up to my nose... smirking as he started to tease me with it. 

I turned my head, and faced away from the cake that he offered me... knowing very well he was just tempting me to beg for my life and to get myself out from being tied like this.

Seeing my stubbornness, he began to get annoyed with me.

"Are you not going to eat? Would you rather die instead?" He asked me, cocking his head to the side, looking at me with keen interest.

I refused to face him, and he scoffed. 

He reached forward and grabbed my chin in his hand, and turned it so that I was now face to face with him.

He tried to stuff the cake into my mouth, but I twisted and turned my face away, suppressing my lips as I did so. After I had resisted for so long, he gave up as he threw the remaining pieces of the cake onto the ground.

He started to nodded, as he raised his eyebrows. "Alright... be this way. Your stubbornness won't do you any good if you continue to be like this,"