The falcon spread its wings wide, enmeshing Aria in a trance as she beheld its gallant poise.

The moon basked its feathers in mellow light, enveloping them in a soft silvery gleam with underlying hues of auburn. Its wing bones with flawless curvatures tucked the feathers close to its side as it established balance on the bough.

Its watchful eyes served to underline its intense gaze riveted on her captivated form, as if sizing her up from head to toe. She stood her ground, reciprocating with a gaze of equal fervor, though tinged to an extent with unambiguous delight.

After making certain it wouldn't turn tail and take to the skies once more, she dared to reach out a hand and stroked its crown. The velvety sensation was so pleasant for a change that her lips broke into a benignly smile. The falcon leaned into her touch, seemingly finding pleasure in her company, as did she.

When the bird had its fill of humanly affection, a shift in its gaze came to Aria's notice. It was cast toward the eastern hallway, where Soo-won's quarters were positioned along. Her attention was immediately snaffled by a striding figure heading straight towards said quarters.

The trailing black hair and purple overcoat made him out to be none other than Soo-won's advisor, Kye-sook. Aria's thoughts flew to the possibility of whether there might be an emergency to have arisen the need for Kye-sook to report to his master at the dead of night.

His sedate stance and unhurried paces told her otherwise, though she couldn't shake the growing feeling of trepidation as she attempted to scour for a reason to his presence. The one thing that was clear to her was that he was marching along with some purpose unknown to her.

She supposed it wasn't her business and was about to disregard it altogether to finally snuggle in for the night when a glint caught at the corner of her eye. It was the same glint off any blade when light shone upon it.

That blade had its hilt resting in Kye-sook's hand, partially concealed under his robes. The apprehension Aria had just shrugged off returned to raid her senses, spurring her body forth as she descended the tree, heedful of making no sound.

She didn't recall that advisors needed to hold onto a weapon at all times, much less brandish it on the way to the king's chamber.

Something was wrong.

Aria did her utmost to muddle through with the courtyard's sparse foliage and what little obscuration it provided to slink up close to the culprit inducing her palpitation. She beelined to the low wall of the corridor and sidled to match his footsteps above, her mind running through her options for the best course of action.

She was neither armed nor in the best condition to take an armed opponent on headfirst. The aches and stitches on her body were warnings incarnate, anchoring her recklessness down while beseeching her to keep a rational state of mind.

To top it all off, Kye-sook was the advisor of Kouka, one of the highest-ranking officers in the regime. That in itself eliminates the choice of calling for the guards. With that said, if she were to commit one false move, she might have a bounty on her head not long after, presuming she could escape the punishment for treason and keep that head secure on her neck.

There's also the controversial possibility that Kye-sook meant no harm to Soo-won and was purely transporting the dagger to his master under the command of the latter. However, it didn't tally with the fact that he was wielding the weapon in a way prior to a strike.

Regardless of everything, she had to take some form of action, lest the worst-case scenario playing in her head by her inborn intuition would unfold before her eyes.

Think, think—

"Advisor Kye-sook." Her body acted against her will before her mind could come to a wise conclusion as she lifted herself up the wall in one nimble motion, obstructing his route. She subconsciously cursed her intrinsic nature of imprudence for managing to break out of its cage. What was she going to do now?

She had no cards to play, so she let instinct in for a round. "What might you be doing here in the middle of the night?"

She had to stop herself from cringing at that deplorable excuse of a question. From a third person's perspective, there would be no doubt that clearly, she was the suspicious one here.

Well, what else was she supposed to have said? It didn't seem that the situation was giving her any other alternative here.

And it was just her luck that it was Kye-sook of all people she was dealing with right now.

He seemed to have stashed the dagger away in his robes out of sight beforehand, most likely when she began mounting the corridor's railing with an effort to confront him. He eyed her from beneath the fringe curtaining his right eye, contemplation evidently present in place of the antagonism Aria had expected.

"Are you certain that you should not be recuperating in your room?" His words were spoken with an emotionless front, giving away nothing besides the fact that he was dodging her question with another. She waited for a continuation to his speech, anything to prove that he was in the clear so she could bail herself out right now before she got herself knee-deep in trouble.

His silence told her she wasn't getting a chance at that feat. She deliberated her next words very carefully, or else she might end up with more than just a lecture on impertinence.

It was at that moment that her brain so desperately wanted out of her overthinking torture that it gave up on her completely by short-circuiting. She couldn't make a roundabout around the problem like he did, so she bit the bullet and went straight to the point. "I'll return to convalescing if you would kindly explain what business you have with Soo-won that involves a dagger."

"I think your position here does not imply that you have the right to inquire me of such a question." His composure did not falter one bit.

"My position here implies that I keep his majesty out of harm's way." Aria's temper was rising. She wasn't going to be able to force some answers out of him if he persists in making the conversation go around in circles.

"Stand down. This does not concern you." His tone was monotonous, as though he had fully anticipated her arrival to thwart his plans and adjudged that she wasn't worth his time.

"I can't afford to do that."

They stared each other down for what felt like hours before Kye-sook averted his gaze and plodded forward. Before he could get his way and enter Soo-won's room to her diagonal right, she reached out and clamped her hand around his arm, holding him back.

"Soo-won is resting. I'm sure things can wait until dawn." She chanced a pacifying persuasion as her last straw before she had to repress his advancement with what little strength she still had in her. She was hoping with all her might that he would surrender and turn back, if only to mollify her screaming instincts telling her this was not a fight she could win, not with the condition she was in.

Maybe that's the reason she let her guard down.

Kye-sook delved in his robes for the dagger with his free hand before she could release him and put some distance between them, driving the end of the hilt down on the left side of her neck. It hit home—right on the carotid artery, the major blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Before she collapsed onto the ground out of instant paralysis, he took aim at the artery on her right and was about to thrust it downward to render her utterly unconscious. Aria pushed herself downward with her fingers that weren't paralyzed just yet while letting his arm go to accelerate her fall, the hilt barely missing its second target by mere inches.

Her stunned body hit the ground with a heavy thud, knocking the air out of her lungs. Darkness danced at the rims of her vision, threatening to consume her fading consciousness wholly. Aria gasped for breath, taking in deep inhales with shallow exhalation.

Kye-sook stepped forward and slid the door open. The room was cloaked in darkness, Soo-won's sleeping form only scarcely visible with the aid of the light creeping in from the hallway.

That light sent another glint off the blade as Kye-sook unsheathed it fully.

In a final vain attempt to stop what was about to come to pass, she clinched her fingers around the hem of his robes, diverting his attention back to her.

His veneer clear of all emotion was starting to crack, hints of irritation showing through. "You can still move?"

She shot him a glare in response, her fingers clenching tighter than before.

"I like your spirit. If feasible, I would prefer not to do away with you here. You would serve as a considerable vessel of power at my side."

"Soo...won...!" She tried to wake Soo-won up with an intended shout, but it came out as faint as a murmur. She got the gist of what Kye-sook was blabbering about, verifying her conjecture once and for all.

This man was aspiring to usurp the throne.

"I will advise you not to waste your breath. I have drugged him before he retired for the night." Upon seeing that Aria harbored no intention of giving up, he added, "Back down. If you do so, I will secure you a rank in the military as well as riches that would make even nobles quiver."

He must have absolute confidence to unveil his resolutions so plainly. It impelled her more to kick his face in, if only she could move right now.

She kept her grip firm on his robes—anything to stall for time. She had to take in more air for her heart to pump blood more rapidly to the brain to have the effects of paralysis wear off.

"I take that as a no. Let go. I'll deal with you later." He caught her by the wrist and peeled her enfeebled fingers off before he set foot in Soo-won's room, the dagger ready in his hands.

This can't be happening.

The children from the shack that night came to haunt her, their scornful eyes upon her lamentable form. Their whispers rang vividly in her ears, disrupting the roaring of her pulse.

Why didn't you save us?

If you weren't so powerless, we would still be alive.

Now he's going to join us, and only you are to blame.

"SHUT...UP!" Aria seethed, desperation overwhelming her as she silenced the voices in her head.

She will not commit the same mistake again.

The implemented paralysis was gradually subsiding, evident from the trembling of her limbs at her outburst of emotion. She forcefully pushed herself off the ground with sheer will, her muscles cramping up in retaliation to the impulsive movement.

Soo-won had saved her time and time again. She had received too much from him—too much, for someone like her.

The boy with bright eyes that cradled the sea filled her vision as he reached out to her, all those years ago. He had taken her hand and shown her his variegated world when she had abandoned her own.

She was beholden to him, with a debt she feared even her defiled life may not be enough to suffice as repayment.

Kye-sook raised the dagger.

Move!

She threw herself forward, tearing the tendons in her legs with the force of the pounce. She hit the edge of the bed and shot out a hand as the dagger plummeted downward.

The sound of dripping blood was amplified in the room's roiling silence.

Aria had her fingers wrapped around the blade, the disturbingly familiar prick of the knife intensifying as she rotated her wrist to have the blade point at the wielder who had his eyes widened with apparent shock. That shock gave way to panic as he fought against the strength pushing the tip towards his heart.

"That's enough." The voice rose from behind her, startling her enough to loosen her grasp on the blade. A hand came around from her back, clasping her own as Kye-sook and Aria simultaneously released the dagger, sending it tumbling to the ground with successive clinks.

Relief overcame her in welcoming waves, though she dared not to mellow out just yet. "Soo-won, you have to run—"

She stopped short when her wariness was met with a smile from his part. Her brow furrowed in abrupt confusion.

He cleared that up moments later. "I suppose she has proven her loyalty now, hasn't she, Kye-sook?"

His comment earned a sigh from the said man in response. "She did not fail to exceed my expectations."

"It was all... a test?" Realization dawned upon her, though anger took hold of her soon after.

The paralysis had worn off completely, her brain gaining back full control of her nervous system. Neglecting the blood still cascading from her palm and the pain in her legs, she stormed out of the room, leaving an audible "tch" behind.

She couldn't believe they didn't trust her, when they were the ones who had compelled her to take this role up in the first place.

If no one would put some form of trust in her, how could she ever come to trust others?

➵ to be continued.