Chapter 21

The next morning, they ate a frugal breakfast and left the inn at sunrise. They took the path up the mountain, hoping to reach the next town by nightfall. The slopes made it difficult to advance and for a moment Yoon-Yi had even considered getting out and walking, in order to make it easier for the servants. Nevertheless, she remained quiet and suffered in silence.

Two hours later, a feeling overcame her. It was a strange sensation, as if she could feel something was about to happen. Thinking it surely must be something silly she pushed it out of her mind.

"Is everything alright?" she heard Jun-Hee ask in a concerned voice.

It appeared Yoon-Yi's face had betrayed her momentary concern.

"Yes, everything is alright. Just thinking silly thoughts." Yoon-Yi said waving a hand airily, then added without much thought "I think watching all those historical movies has gotten to me."

"Movies?" the other girl exclaimed in confusion.

"Oh, I meant books. Books…yes all those books I have read about sword fighting in the woods have made me paranoid." Yoon-Yi finished with a nervous chuckle.

She had not meant to let it slip, but half her mind was elsewhere. She imagined men running along the mountain slope and attacking them in full force. Closing her eyes, she felt a shudder along her spine, and she shook her head vigorously, struggling to keep the images away.

Jung-Hee was watching her with a worried expression on her face. It was clear she thought Yoon-Yi was experiencing some kind of mind fatigue by no means connected with their current situation.

Yoon-Yi's eyes snapped open and, as if on cue, an arrow pierced her side of the palanquin wall. It went through the thin paper window and remained stuck in the opposite wall.

The palanquin lurched violently and both girls screamed in shock, scrambling away from the arrow, as though afraid it would spring to life and harm them. They heard yells and sounds of clashing swords coming from outside. Afraid she might have fallen asleep and been dreaming, Yoon-Yi shuffled towards the small window on her side and slid it open. The image that met her eyes was enough to make her freeze.

Ten men were running towards their group, swords in hands and fierce expressions on their faces. They were advancing quickly and soon enough they clashed with the guards.

'You have got to be kidding me!' Yoon-Yi thought. baffled by the horrible premonition she had. 'Couldn't I have imagined daisies and rainbows or perhaps a unicorn? That would have been much better than this.'

"Shut the window and stay inside!" Yoon-Yi heard Shin's voice yelling at her.

He was steering his horse towards the men, but an arrow hit the poor animal straight in the chest. The sudden lurch of the horse threw Shin off. He scrambled up quickly and picking up his sword he went for the armed men that were now fighting four of the guards. From her position, Yoon-Yi could not see what was happening on the other sides of the palanquin and Jung-Hee was too afraid to open her window.

Yoon-Yi shut the window and pressed herself closer to Jung-Hee. They were both shivering and barely breathing. The palanquin lurched again, and they wobbled forward. The crashing noise let them know the palanquin had hit the ground. Yoon-Yi was afraid to even imagine what had happened to the servants. Her body shuddered and she felt herself frightened at the thought of her dying there, cooped up in that tiny space.

Panic started bubbling inside her chest. Gritting her teeth, she reached for the front door of the palanquin.

"Yoon-Yi what are you doing? Shin told us to stay inside." Jung-Hee cried out in panic. Her face looked pale and her wide eyes showed how frightened she was.

"Jung-Hee, we cannot stay here and wait to be slashed or pierced by an arrow. I am going out to see what is happening."

"But… it is dangerous." Jung-Hee said feebly.

"I know. I will try to be careful. But if I stay here like this, I will go mad. I need to know what is happening."

With that said, she wrenched the door open, trying to stop her hands from shaking, and scrambled out of the palanquin. She struggled for a second, the skirt getting caught in a ripped wood. With a hard pull she managed to release herself and she got to her feet, looking around.

The servants were dead, each struck down by an arrow, while the guards were down to three. Jun-Ho was nowhere around and dread gripped Yoon-Yi's heart. What if he was dead? That is when she heard his voice, coming from the hill. He had taken two guards with him and was chasing after the archers. She sighed in relief.

'Then what about Shin?' Her eyes searched the area frantically, looking for that black costume and white overcoat. When she finally saw him, a strangled gasp escaped through her lips. She felt herself on the verge of fainting and could only stand there, looking transfixed as Shin was fighting two enemies at once.

The two men were ruthless in their attacks, but Shin managed to dodge their weapons twice. He moved quickly, slashing the air with his sword, and slicing one of them across the chest. The man dropped to the ground, clenching at his ripped skin. A red stream flowed from his wound and he remained there, sinking in a pool of his own blood. His comrade, furious to see his friend fall, launched himself forward touching Shin with his sword.

The metal grazed Shin's shoulder, but not deep enough to produce damage. Swirling his weapon in retaliation, Shin cut the man across his leg, then came forward and stabbed his stomach.

Yells and screams reverberated throughout the area when Yoon-Yi finally moved to look around. For a moment she could not even tell who was who, when someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her brutally. Panic-stricken, she screamed her lungs out and struggled in the man's hold. She clawed at his hands and kept squirming, until she felt breathless from the effort.

"I've got her!" the man yelled gesturing to the others to follow him.

It looked like he was about to move away from there. With that realization, Yoon-Yi felt the adrenaline coursing through her body, like it had happened before. She was not going to let herself be taken heaven knows where by that monster. Thus, she doubled her efforts and struggled in the man's hold enough to make him stumble on his feet.

"Would you stay still, you crazy wench, or I swear I will knock you out dead." The man growled at her, his face twisting in anger.

"As if!" Yoon-Yi threw at him, not really aware of what she was saying.

One thing she knew though, if he wanted her dead, he would have killed her by now. It was clear that, for whatever reason, they wanted her alive. Thus, she had the advantage, or at least in her mind she did.

It appeared as though the man was not of the same opinion as Yoon-Yi, because the next moment he twisted her arms so badly she let out a loud scream of pain.

Shin, who had not heard the man's yells of having captured Yoon-Yi whirled around, a shocked expression on his face. His eyes laid on her and he could see the pain on her face. Her scream pierced his ears and made his heart stop. Ignoring the enemy he was fighting with, he ran towards Yoon-Yi and her captor, but was soon stopped by two others.

Cursing loudly, Shin tried to move past them, cutting the air with his sword and drawing large arcs with its sharp point. One of the men fell, but the other merely dodged, slamming his own sword into Shin's. The metal vibrated in his hand and he grabbed the hilt with both hands, steadying his hold on it.

"Shin!" he heard Yoon-Yi scream, and his head turned to look at her.

The sight of pain etched in her eyes made his blood run cold. His grip on the hilt tightened, turning his knuckles white and his expression darkened. He vaguely heard the sounds of battle sounding around him, coming from the guards and their enemies, but he ignored them. All he cared about was to get Yoon-Yi out of there.

"Take her and go! I will deal with this guy." His opponent was yelling at Yoon-Yi's captor.

Shin's face twisted in a grimace.

"As if you could handle me." he growled, raising his sword, and launching at his enemy.

Their swords connected and a loud clang reverberated in the air. The two were pressed against each other, their weapons caught in the middle. Taking a deep breath, Shin pushed himself against the sword and tried to shove the man out of balance. He succeeded and in the instant it took the man to find his footing, Shin cut him across his right leg, then pulling up his sword, she slashed across the chest as well.

Without waiting to see the body fall on the ground, Shin ran towards the one holding Yoon-Yi. Her wrists were twisted painfully in the man's grasp and she was wincing in pain. Shin had to admire the anger firing off from her eyes. He was sure that if she had a weapon at that moment and knew how to use it, all hell would break loose.

Shaking his head, he advanced towards his enemy, analyzing the situation carefully. The man was also holding a sword but it looked difficult to use while also holding Yoon-Yi by the arms. And he looked like her struggles had worn him out slightly. With his mind made up, Shin lowered his sword and approached them slowly.

"Let her go." he said, eying the man with a deadly stare.

"Not a chance in hell!" the man snarled at him. "But if you come closer, I will kill her." and to make his point, he raised his sword and pointed it at her chest.

Yoon-Yi let out a small wince, her eyes falling on Shin. Despite her rising panic, she could not help but notice how intimidating Shin looked at that moment. With his hair fluttering and his burning eyes, he looked like a vengeful warrior of old. She was really surprised how the man holding her had not stepped back in awe and fear. Perhaps it was the fear, making her mind think of silly things, or the imminent approach of death clouding her judgment, but she had to admit that Shin was truly stunning.

Not knowing what kind of thoughts his wild appearance had impressed upon Yoon-Yi, Shin kept advancing slowly, eying the man with his fiery black eyes. He looked like a tiger cornering its prey, deliberately moving closer and closer until there was no way out.

"What do you want with her? You look like a bunch of bandits and thieves, so why not steal and leave?" Shin asked, in a low dangerous voice. He was now three steps away from the man.

"What do you care? Maybe we want a girl to keep us company at night." The man jeered, shaking Yoon-Yi slightly.

A dark shadow crossed Shin's face and his expression changed at the man's words. He took another two steps, closing the distance. He saw the man's hand shake, clearly tired of having to hold the sword in that position. With one last glance at Yoon-Yi, he dashed forward and raised his sword in one swift move.

Taken aback by the sudden attack, the man's hand jerked up instinctively and pushed his sword up in order to protect his body. Shin seized the moment and rammed into him with full force, making him release Yoon-Yi's arms.

She fell on her knees, her entire body trembling. Looking in Shin's direction, she saw him slash through his enemy with ease. The man did not seem to put up much of a fight against Shin's furious attacks. Half a minute later, catching his opponent on the wrong foot, Shin landed a hit across the man's back. The fight was over.

Yoon-Yi felt herself slid on the ground, but before she touched it, a pair of arms caught her. As soon as he defeated his enemy, Shin had rushed towards her and was now cradling her gently to his chest.

"It's over now. It's alright." He was saying softly, pressing her against himself.

"Are you alright? Is everyone safe?" she asked with a shudder. "Jun-Ho… Jung-Hee…"

"Shh. Jun-Ho is safe, look there." He said and pointed in the direction of the trees. Sure enough, Jun-Ho was climbing down the hill, looking disheveled and having a few scratches but otherwise alive. "And Jung-Hee is safe in the palanquin. You were the only one crazy enough to come outside when I specifically told you not to." He finished, with an admonishing tone.

"I couldn't just stay in there while you were all fighting. It killed me not knowing what was going on. Not knowing is always worse…" she said breathlessly.

Shin helped her up and she staggered on her feet. Without realizing, she leaned against him, finding comfort in his body.

Just when she was about to close her eyes and sigh in relief, Jun-Ho's voice made her jerk awake.

"Shin! Yoon-Yi! Watch out!"

He was waving his hands frantically, trying to show them something at the edge of the road. A man had rushed from behind a tree and was pointing something at them.

"Shit!" Shin swore under his breath, panic filling his brain.

The man was aiming an arrow straight at Yoon-Yi and he was too far away for either of them to reach. Also, neither one had a bow and arrow at hand, making it impossible for them to take him out from that distance. A second later he heard the string releasing the arrow and his body moved instinctively. He launched himself over Yoon-Yi, covering her with his body while still standing.

Yoon-Yi, who did not see what was happening, sensed Shin's body closing in on her, his arms surrounding and holding her tightly. Before she had a chance to say anything, she felt him lurch violently, his mouth opening in a silent gasp. His arms twitched around her, then fell limply on either side of his body.