𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ 𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐰𝐧

⇛ 𝐂𝐇 𝟏

kaho's golden eyes fluttered open and she quickly sat up to see her laying on her old bed in her old room, a red kimono laying on the chair in the corner of the room. she got out of bed, only to fall flat on her face onto the hard, cold floor.

huffing loudly, she got back up and changed into the kimono. she stared at herself through the mirror and noticed small bags under her eyes.

she stuck her hands into a bucket of water near the table and splashed the water onto her face and then grabbed a small piece of cloth to wipe at it. she then picked up a bit of powder and put some under her eyes to hide the bags, surprised that they kept everything she left behind.

after having neatened herself, kaho left the room and hurried to the room where they would usually have breakfast. when she entered, both akito and soo-won were sitting on the floor eating but not daring to say a word. it seemed so awkward.

she frowned and asked, "why didn't you guys wake me up?"

the attention was now on the girl who stood in the doorway with messy makeup, untied clothes and rough hair. the makeup didn't even hide the bags under her eyes.

"we wanted you to get more rest, you were in a really bad state before." soo-won replied, watching as she sat down in between the two boys, drooling at the sight of food.

akito passed her a bowl full of rice. "here eat something. you look very pale and also you don't need to cover the bags under your eyes"

"uh.."

"we aren't that dumb you know." he smirked at her flustered expression. soo-won nodded in agreement, while sipping on some tea.

she forced herself to let out a laugh and wiped at the mess on her face, revealing her bare face. she was going to smile and ask her cousin for some food but stopped herself when a sudden uneasy atmosphere took over. from the corner of her eyes, she noticed a few guards standing around and watching her like a hawk.

"what's the matter kaho?" soo-won asked, noticing her hesitation. he pointed to the food in front of him, encouraging her to take some.

"nothing at all." she muttered, staring down at her bowl. the eyes on her felt so uncomfortable, she lost her appetite.

akito suspected something was up and quietly whispered to her, asking her to meet him in the gardens later.

after lunch she pulled soo-won into one of the halls to speak.

"what is it?" he asked, a slightly cute confused look on his face.

"ummm...so...i wanted to—ugh! i don't know how to do this." she yelled, and pulled at her hair out of frustration. she wanted to apologise to him for yelling at him then leaving the room so abruptly.

"if you're going to apologise, you don't need to." he smiled sweetly at her, an understanding look in his eyes. he was so nice and caring. she couldn't ever imagine him hurting a fly.

"but i still feel obliged to." kaho looked down at the ground, an evident frown on her face.

"i said you don't need to." her chin was lifted up by his fingers so that she was staring into his eyes. for some reason it felt like he was trying to hypnotise her, trying to convince her about something but she didn't know how to explain it.

she quickly pulled away from his grip so that she wouldn't lose herself in his eyes. it didn't feel right what he was doing.

"i should find akito. bye." she waved at him and ran to the gardens while breathing in the fresh air. the flowers all around had an amazing scent. "akito i'm sorry i took so long, i got caught up with some business with soo-won."

"kaho, have you noticed how all the guards are acting strange?" he asked, getting straight to the point. her mood instantly changed as she nodded.

"yes, i keep catching them glaring at me."

"what do you think is going on?" he kneeled down on the floor and patted a spot next to him.

"something is very strange about the palace but maybe it's just that the murderer may still be here so they're keeping an eye out. but i can't believe soo-won is trying to blame hak."

"i hope that's the case kaho. i hope that hak is not involved in the murder. what if he was chased out and yona went with him?"

"that could be the case..."

they talked for hours and spent more hours training without katanas, until the point that they were exhausted and went back inside, eyes still lingering on them.