Your Highness

S I X T Y N I N E

C H A P T E R S I X T Y N I N E

The clanging sound of iron resonated as the fight escalated. Exhausted roaring and heavy gasping increased with the intensity of the swordfight and pained groans were slightly audible. Hayoon only had her hearing to serve her, while her eyes were shielded from the vision of light. To her surprise, the fight died out rather fast and soon a deadly silence fell.

Hayoon found it rather uncomfortable as the sounds were her only reference to the situation. Only a faint sound of crispy leaves was audible to her ears. It was the sounds of someone's steps. The subtle sound turned more audible with every single step, indicating that someone was approaching her.

Although Hayoon didn't know who it was, she was rather calm in posture. Her heartbeat neither increased or decreased. She was neither scared nor curious of the person approaching.

As the steps increased she was clear about one thing. The quite steps were from a man. A hand carefully extended next to her left ear. Whether the hand was extending to unknot the tie to her blindfold or the cloth around her mouth was her still unclear. Hayoon could feel the presence of the stranger's hand, roaming a few inches away from her ear. For seconds the hand remained in the air as if he was unsure of what to do next.

For seconds Hayoon didn't understand  why the man did not do anything. Would could be interesting about a girl who was blindfolded and tied to a tree? On top of that with a cloth tied around her mouth. Couldn't he at least remove the cloth so she could ask him that damn question?

His hand slowly fell to the side as if he already gave up on the idea of removing the blindfold or the mouth cloth. The sound of the sharp blade piercing the air was suddenly heard and soon after the ropes tying her were cut off and fell to the soft ground of grass.

At the sudden release, the rush of blood started circulating to her arms and hands. The senses were slowly awakened in her tiny arms. With weak moves, she was about to take off the blindfold but the sudden voice of the stranger's demand of her to stop made her froze for a second.

Han, it is Han's voice.

It was his familiar voice - telling her to stop - which caused her mind to freeze. After so long was she able to hear the voice which she only wished to appear in her dreams. For a moment Hayoon was afraid that this was simply her imagination. To confirm her curiosity Hayoon couldn't help but defy his demand.

Her hands moved in reflex and removed the blindfold despite the commanding voice telling her stop.

The blindfold was removed welcoming her with a surprising view. The prince was glaring at her with sharpened eyes while a sword was drawn next to her neck.

Despite the dark eyes that fell on her, Hayoon didn't feel the slightest threat by the dead aura surrounding his eyes. Han studied her with narrowed eyes. He couldn't understand why the girl wasn't scared by his presence, by the sword he had placed next to her throat or by the commanding voice which warned calamity if she dared to disobey.

Instead, she was looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"You... you've changed," Hayoon said with a calm voice, showing no sign of fear.

Han's eyes narrowed at her the moment he detected her voice. It was familiar yet so strange. Her words were as if she was blaming him. The disappointment resonated from her cold stare and reflected in the icy tone she spoke with. The confusion her voice brought was bigger than any dilemma had brought him.

The eyes staring at Han held sadness of a source he couldn't decipher.

For Hayoon, the sadness wasn't due to the fact that Han was a direct threat to her life. No, it was because she could tell that his eyes held confusion when seeing her. The man before her was not the person she knew of. No, the eyes looking at her was of a man who held no memory of her. It was clear.

The Han she knew would hold her dearly, care about her wellbeing and worry about her sadness, but the one in front of her was a person who regarded her as a stranger.

Her expression affected him much more than Han wanted to admit. He was angry when she removed the blindfold despite his order of her not to, yet when meeting her eyes, the anger dispersed as bobbles reaching the shore. There was something about her that made him involuntarily succumb.

"Who...who are you?" Han asked.

Indeed, as Hayoon assumed he did not remember her. It made her sadder than she was comfortable with. The pain of being forgotten was something she didn't want to feel twice, yet it happened.

Her eyes wandered elsewhere, avoiding the blaming eyes which before was never meant for her. Her gesture provoked an unknown rage inside Han. His usual calm was broken just by a simple act of her. His anger grew and the uncontrollable furry made him impatient. His hand grabbed the chin of Hayoon and forced her to face him.

Han locked his furious eyes on her and made her unable to rebuke.

"You better answer my question," he said with a threatening tone. "I don't like repeating myself"

Her brows knitted. Hayoon tried to free herself from his grip but was unable to break away from the iron-like hold. So this was how is how he treats a stranger? This was how it felt when you were not seen as someone he held dear?

In conclusion, I've become a person he no longer was afraid to hurt. Hurt was an underestimation. Out of all people, Han was the last person she expected to receive this kind of treatment from. The pain brought tears to her eyes, brimming at the lashes of hers.

"Let. me. go." She said in painful sadness.