"I'm fine," Erin assured them, pulling her body up into a sitting position. "You see?"

Minho frowned, "I just see a soldier trying to stay strong when she's clearly in pain. Now lie down for goodness' sake.  You'll never get healed if you keep moving around."

"Trying to stay strong?" she protested. "For your information-"

She was interrupted when she turned slightly, pain instantly running down to her side and forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut and wince. When the pain finally subsided and she fluttered her eyes open, her gaze immediately fell on the prince's unimpressed face.

"Just..." he inhaled deeply before focusing a concerned gaze on her and continuing softly, "lie down, please. It would hurt less."

Her eyebrows furrowed when he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and tenderly pushed her back until she was lying down again.

"Look, my Lord. I've been through a lot worse than this. I have been a Guardian for almost a decade now and have been walking over the thin rope between life and death many, many times. A slight pierce in my side is nothing to me."

"Well, it is everything to me, okay?" he snapped before heaving a sigh and running a hand through his hair. "You have been one of the bravest people I have ever met and now seeing you hurt, well, that concerns me. What if something went wrong? What if you died? And to my people for that matter, I would never forgive myself. This attack came out of the blue. None of us was expecting it and who is to say there won't be another in the actual town of Masan? And with the two Guardians we actually have in no position to fight, we will never be victorious. That's why I -- we all -- need to make sure you are recovering quickly."

"On that note, how is Seungmin? Heard the cut was pretty deep. How much blood did he lose? Will he make it?"

"He's fine," Minho interlocked his fingers with hers, holding her hand on his lap and sending her a soft smile. "He got stitches and luckily enough he didn't lose too much blood. He's asleep and has been for a while but he's recovering. He'll be fine."

A relieved smile filled her face as she finally rested her head against her pillow, "but let's admit it, my aim was good, wasn't it? When I shot an arrow at the Royal Army soldier, it was good, right?"

Finally, he chuckled, squeezing her hand, "it was. At your angle, even I was surprised you managed to kill him. And just in time too. A couple of seconds later and Seungmin would have been a goner. I must say, Erin, you never fail to surprise me. You truly are one of the best archers in South Korean... if not the best."

The surprised yet equally pleased smile that engulfed her face was a sight Minho never expected to see as she uttered, "you know, Your Highness, you are the first person out of the Guardians to ever say that..."

He returned the smile, placing a soft kiss on her hand, "well, I mean it. You really are."

"Why are you all flirty all of a sudden?" she teased him. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you like me."

"Maybe I do," he shrugged, catching her by surprise. She had obviously seen a change in his attitude towards her since they had first met but she hadn't expected him to confess to it so willingly. 

"You can't. We are enemies, remember? I'm a Guardian, you are a member of the Royal family."

He rolled his eyes, "you think I don't know that? I've been trying since the first time we met to keep my distance... Hasn't worked too well."

"Your Highness-"

"Drop the honorifics, Erin. It's not like you shy away from calling me my real name. I mean, you have done it before."

"I know but I like to tease you with it," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Besides, it helps me remember you are a Royal."

"And you hate Royals," he finished the sentence. "I get it. Perhaps I should call you Erin the Guardian."

"Perhaps you should," she smiled. 

His eyes focused on her smile and how beautiful he found it in comparison to all the crying he had seen from her recently. And her emerald eyes, as gorgeous as the gem, crinkling at the sides, reminding him of the first time he had seen them. The first time he had seen her.

"I have a confession to make," he voiced out, thumb soothingly caressing her hand. "My father didn't want me to come to Busan when I was scouting the land. I forced my men to take me there because... well... I wanted to see you again."

Her eyes widened in confusion as she sat herself up again, "see me again? We met only after that."

"I saw you back when," he shrugged. "Back when you were a prisoner in the Palace. I wasn't allowed to interact with you nor was I allowed to ask any guards about you so... so I asked Seungmin to tell me about you. If you remember -- and I hope you do -- before the Palace battle, maybe a week before, Seungmin started giving you a bit more than just stale bread."

"The meat..." she muttered, remembering. "Seungmin said it was from someone inside the Palace. I thought it was from his mother or something. I didn't think it would be from... you. But why?"

"I watched when you stole some vegetables from the Royal farm when you were supposed to be cleaning the field from one of my father's many alcohol-related parties. I guess I could say you caught my interest."

Her cheeks flushed, "you saw that?"

"I saw all of it."

"And you didn't tell your father anything?"

"It's not like my father was completely honest with me anyway. Besides, you needed the food more than the Royal family."

She smirked, "maybe Royals aren't as bad as I thought after all."

Her eyes seemed to wander along his body slowly as though she was marking each fold and spot in her mind. The smirk on her face never faltered, leading her eyes back up where they lingered on his smooth, pink lips.

He raised an eyebrow teasingly, "if I didn't know any better, I would say you are falling for me."

"Well good thing you know better than that," she tried to flick his forehead with her free hand but he grabbed her other hand instead and smiled.

"Or do I?" he placed both her hands around his neck and wrapped his own around her waist, pulling her closer until she winced. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot about your injury. I-"

She cupped his face and pressed her lips against his in a soft, chaste kiss. His initial shock instantly withered away as he relaxed into the kiss, feeling her velvet lips dance against his. The scent of her sweet perfume was intoxicating, filling his nostrils as he pulled her closer, hands resting on her hips. 

He tilted his head to the side, wishing to deepen the kiss but instead, Erin pressed her hands on his chest, pushing him away. With the taste of her lips remained on his and his head still spinning from being so close, he realised the worst: she had him wrapped around her finger. He had become putty in her hands and from the sly smile adorning her face as she placed another fleeting kiss on his lips, he knew she realised too.