It’s a dead summer evening. Hyejoo trudges around the thin woods until she nears the forest. Nothing else to be heard but the eerie sound of the wind and the wood ground’s fallen leaves and twigs loudly crunching beneath her boots. She thinks it’s a little odd to not hear any noises from the fauna in the area.
She’s been here before. Over and over, actually, for the past week. It’s been her job to scour the lands and extract a certain being from the dark rose forest by order of her king. The young knight had always taken her job seriously, but this is one she can’t afford to blunder. She’s been entrusted with the single of-highest-importance task of getting rid of the regal vampire that’s lived there for a long while.
That’s about all the information she got from her, however. It’s fine. She can handle herself.
At least, she thinks so.
-
Hyejoo takes in her surroundings, admiring the flora that she hasn’t really paid attention to before. There’s something particular about that moment that made her pause and absorb her surroundings for a little while. This is alright, isn’t it? Hyejoo takes a sip from her jug, silently thanking her sister for always packing it up for her.
Speaking of said sister, Hyejoo thinks that Yerim would greatly appreciate the very flowers growing in the area. She’s never really cared to learn about most living things as much as the older girl, but she knows the beautiful wild shrubs are blooming roses. She could recognize as much.
A single, dark flower calls her attention. Its color unlike the bleeding red of the others from the ones around it, (unlike the pastel pinks and the white ones grown in the castle gardens,) this one marked by a deep, livid burgundy, almost black-like hue. She reaches out a hand to lightly palm the budding rose.
Smooth, soft and cold to the touch. She’s careful not to move beyond touching the flower alone.
Black cherry velvet.
Hyejoo blinks at the thought. Where did that come from? Perhaps it was the name of the plant, she was almost sure of it. How on Earth was she able to recognize it from a single touch?
She’s brought out of her musings as she hears a faint rustling close to where she was. She stands up and looks around, careful not to make a noise and there, she sees it. Or, sees her more like.
Standing in the midst of the thorny bushes, a girl with jet-black midnight hair (very much akin to the rose flower she was just admiring not too long ago) manages to steal the air around her away. Hyejoo stands with abated breath and observes, silently marveling at the beauty of the stranger from what she can see from her side profile.
Unknowingly, she pulls her closer. Like a magnet, towards her.
The young knight had planned to make her way towards the girl, but as if somehow sensing her conceived approach, the girl gracefully stands and walks away… leaving nothing but a faint, pleasant scent of roses in her wake.
-
She sees her again, the following day. The very same hour, at the very same area.
This time, Hyejoo doesn’t think about moving closer. She opts to observe the girl go about her business from a distance.
She comes to realize that the young lady was most likely tending to the roses (and that she collects the midnight colored ones, in particular). She also comes to find out that whenever the girl leaves, it’s as if she vanished without a trace.
Hyejoo thinks, as she catches a whiff of the familiar, pleasant rose-scented breeze, that she found who she was looking for.
-
There’s no way she’s unaware of it, Hyejoo thinks.
It’s been confusing (and admittedly, a bit frustrating) how she seems to be the only one affected by their encounters. The knight hasn’t exactly been subtle, making little to no apparentness of her presence, but not nearly invisible enough to alarm the strange girl should she ever be made aware of the company.
This week, earlier, in particular, Hyejoo has seen tremendous growth from their interactions. If you could even call it that she thinks bitterly. She’s seen the stranger spare a glance her way, and has caught the girl’s gaze a little more than once. Even caught a hint of a small smile, about a couple of nights ago.
(She hasn’t really been able to think straight since then, her thoughts filled with bright eyes, pale skin, a blinding smile and rosy, rosy cheeks. She thinks about the dizzying, intoxicating scent that fills her senses.
She doesn’t think about what she’d have to do, when it comes down to doing her task.)
-
She’s right there. Again, amongst the heaps of thorns and stems entangling themselves as they stretch out, the stranger sits with her attention centered on the dark roses. It would be so easy to finally approach her.
The knight makes a move.
“Excuse me…” Hyejoo gathers herself. She doesn’t understand why she felt so drawn, but it allows her to speak before she could even coherently piece together her thoughts. “What’s a gorgeous being such as yourself doing ‘round these dangerous parts, m'lady?”
She hears a light, airy laugh. The unknown girl barely moves from her position, not even bothering to spare her a glance.
Hyejoo is undeterred by the response. Or, lack, thereof.
“I’m serious, miss. Haven’t you heard of the hazards in this particular area?”
The girl finally looks at her. She stands abruptly, taking the young knight by surprise. Hyejoo is unprepared for the impact of finally seeing her up close.
Upon closer look, she notices the fine details of the girl’s outfit, and her jewelry. The seemingly regular dress is of satin cloth, with strips of lace, adorned by small pieces of gemstones. Crystals shine from the unique ornaments hanging around her neck. Must be a royal… got you.
The stranger gives her a blank stare before looking straight into her eyes (a glint of something mysterious briefly flashing in her own), intimidatingly.
“My business... is nothing you should concern yourself with...” She drawls out, giving Hyejoo a once-over, unimpressed and disinterested, “knight.”
Hyejoo clenches her jaw, fists shaking at the blatant condescending manner. She calmly breathes out a quiet “be careful, princess…”.
An amused scoff annoys Hyejoo more than it should, coming from the soft voice she’s starting to grow familiar with. “I doubt that I’d be the one needing caution. I suggest that you watch yourself.” She spins around, bored. If she had spoken any softer, the knight wouldn’t have caught her saying “besides, it’s highly unlikely that someone like you could ever come close to doing anything I could.”
The ethereal stranger flashes her a smile and turns about her way, leaving the girl with nothing more than a newfound intrigue. Hyejoo watches with mild disdain and annoyance as the girls walks further and deeper into the forest until she’s no longer visible.
The knight makes her way home to the castle, a newfound determination to prove herself burning in her veins. There’s something so infuriating about the girl that makes Hyejoo want to prove her wrong.
“I’m just getting started.”
-
A little beyond the forest path, a figure emerges, having witnessed the exchange and the whole ordeal prior. The being hums to herself. She’s been eyeing the forest girl for a while now, and with the addition of the knight coming into the picture… “interesting…”