Chapter Text
The forest did not care if you were noble or nameless. It swallowed sound and softened footsteps, and beneath its canopy, the line between hunter and hunted blurred with each breath.
Seulgi moved as if she belonged to it.
Maybe she did.
Her horse, Byul, pawed at the frost-bitten ground beside a felled tree, the steam of his breath curling in the evening chill. Seulgi crouched low in the brush, eyes narrowed against the wind, blade resting loosely in her hand. She’d already brought down a deer just past dawn earlier that day—meat she’d dressed and dried herself—but old instincts kept her watching, listening for another meal.
Thus far in her mission- months, maybe longer- there had been no combat save for the fight against the brutal chill of the incoming northern winter. The closest thing she’d found to an enemy was a textile merchant trying to charge her double for a warm fur hat.
She’d declined.
Her pride was worth far more to her than the warmth of her ears, and it didn’t take her long to kill and skin a squirrel, turning its entrails to animal bait and its fur into earmuffs.
Since then, it had been just her, the forest, her group of men, and the oppressive silence that covered it like a blanket.
Until now.
Crack .
A twig.
She froze.
Perhaps it was an animal- something she could slice and serve for herself and the rest of the scouting troop. Or, perhaps, a Pilsun soldier too stupid to cover the sound of his own footfalls- proof that what Seulgi was doing out there was important .
Killing the Pilsun kept her kingdom safe.
And she was eager to do it.
Another step. The soft snort of a horse.
Seulgi turned sharply, blade half-raised, knuckles whitening.
The nose of a horse poked through the treeline. Seulgi’s entire body was taught like a tripwire, waiting for the right moment to-
“Seulgi?”
She faltered, eyes catching on the dark green robes brushing against the side of the horse. Then, her eyes traveled to the face of the woman wearing it- a face she hadn’t seen since she’d last set foot in Chaehwa.
“Are you out here?”
“Keep your voice down,” Seulgi demanded, stepping out of her concealment and lowering- but not sheathing- her blade. “And cover your colors. Do you want every Pilsun soldier for miles to know that the Chaehwa King’s Guard is walking through their woods?”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” Kyung deadpanned, hopping off her horse, her boots meeting the earth with a soft thud. “I was confident that you’d clear the path of any northerners ahead of me. And I’m not a Guardsman. I’m a-”
“Messenger, I know.” Seulgi gave Kyung a once-over, looking for any injuries or signs of unrest. She found none. “You certainly don’t travel like a guardsman. I could hear you coming from half a mile away.” Then, more concerned. “What are you doing this far north? I haven’t seen you step foot outside of the kingdom walls in years. Not since you were promoted.”
“It’s rude to talk business before offering your guest something to eat,” Kyung notified her, grabbing her horse’s reins. “Where is your camp?”
Seulgi glanced around her, making sure that Kyung hadn’t been followed, then beckoned for her to follow, grabbing her horse on the way.
“Hi, Byul,” Kyung cooed, patting Seulgi’s horse. “Has Seulgi been taking good care of you?”
“She gets lots of pets and plenty of treats,” Seulgi assured her friend. Then, as they got closer. “No talking.”
She whistled as she approached, then waited to receive one back- an acknowledgement. Camp was safe for her to enter, and the guards knew who she was.
“Alright, it’s clear.” She pulled Byul forward, and Kyung followed with her horse.
The camp materialized before them.
It was nothing more than a pile of embers, a few strips of deer sizzling on a spit, and a semi-circle of tents. Horses were tied to low branches, drinking water or munching on the tall grass.
They continued further into their camp until Seulgi pulled her horse to a stop. “That tent is mine,” Seulgi said, taking the reins of both horses and handing them off to one of the newer soldiers, instructing him to feed and water them. “There’s still food by the fire. Have as much as you’d like.”
She took a moment to look over the camp herself, searching for anything abnormal, but she found nothing.
She joined Kyung by the fire, sitting on a log, holding her palms near the coals and relishing in the soft warmth. They never let their fires burn hot enough to create smoke signals- just warm enough to cook the meat. And even then, sometimes they were forced to eat it raw, or nothing at all.
Kyung took a bite of the deer. Chewed. Then sighed, almost dreamily.
“How is it?” Seulgi asked.
“The best thing I’ve had in months,” Kyung said with a full mouth. “No seasoning, no salt—but I don’t care. It’s hot, and I’m starving.”
“That’s the secret,” Seulgi murmured. “Hunger makes everything gourmet.”
A silence stretched. Not uncomfortable, but taut with unspoken weight. Seulgi watched the flames flicker before finally turning to her friend.
“As glad as I am to see you, my curiosity is gnawing at me, and my patience is thin.”
“You’ve never had much patience to begin with.” Kyung reached into her satchel and pulled out a sealed scroll. Her expression, for once, was serious. “Just- before you read it, take a deep breath.”
Seulgi’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“It’s a message from the king. One that I’m not sure you’ll like.”
Seulgi took it with careful fingers. Her heart beat faster.
“The king couldn’t have sent a courier?”
“Couriers are for love letters and death notifications. This- is a personal message from King Taejoon. It’s mission critical.” Kyung shook her head. “He didn’t want anyone else to deliver it.”
Kyung had started out as a simple mail room worker before training to go outside the walls as a courier- delivering letters and packages on horseback to cities far and wide before eventually being promoted to the king’s scribe. Instead of delivering letters, she drafted them, interpreted them, and pressed the King’s seal into green wax. For her to leave the walls for the first time in years was a testament to the importance of the message she had to deliver.
Seulgi scanned the dark shapes around the fire—men curled in sleep or murmuring quietly to one another, far enough not to overhear. She broke the seal and unfolded the parchment.
Her brows drew together as she read silently:
“Scoutsman Woo Seulgi is to report to the King effective immediately. Terminate all current orders.”
She stared at the signature. Yoo Taejoon . The King’s seal burned green into the corner.
“That’s all?” she said flatly, eyes flicking to Kyung. “This is what required secrecy?”
“That’s exactly why it’s short,” Kyung said, lowering her voice. “The fewer the words, the fewer the risks. The more trusted the messenger…”
“...the better the odds,” Seulgi finished. She sighed and held the parchment over the flames. The fire caught fast, and she held it, watching it burn.
“Do you know what this is about?”
She couldn’t say that she was thrilled to be returning to the kingdom so soon- especially given the fact that they were making more progress than they ever had before, pushing their northern boundaries, gathering intelligence. But it wasn’t enough. She didn’t want to return to the king empty-handed, and at that moment, she had no information of worth.
Kyung hesitated, then leaned closer. “There are rumors. Whispers of tension with the North. Ambushes. Disguised soldiers. Inside jobs.”
Seulgi frowned. That didn’t correlate to the experience she’d had over the last few months.
“It’s been quiet up here for as long as we’ve been scouting. No threats, no tensions, nothing.”
“I can imagine that the king is not inclined to wait for rumors to become reality before acting on them,” Kyung murmured. “He wouldn’t recall you unless he believed something was coming.”
“Well, if he is hoping for information, then he’s going to be disappointed.” Seulgi kicked at the dirt. “All I’ve found is a merchant’s caravan and a herd of deer.”
“You’ve always been more useful than you believe.”
“Don’t flatter me,” Seulgi muttered. “I’m no strategist. No king's guard. Why- of all people to call- would he call me? What could I possibly do that others can’t? Within the walls of the kingdom, no less? I’m a scout.”
Kyung offered a slow, dry smile. “You could at least pretend to be pleased. Most would be honored to be called home by the King himself. A warm bed and a hot meal sounds like bliss to me, and I’ve only been gone for one day. How could you possibly prefer this?”
Seulgi looked around the camp- at the trees that had become her home, the tent that was her bedroom. How could she not prefer it?
“What is there in the kingdom for me, other than the noise of too many people and the pressure of constant politics? Out here, I can actually do something.”
“Maybe you’re being called back to do something more.”
Seulgi raised a brow. “Like what? Training recruits? Drafting scout protocol?”
“That information is above my paygrade.” Kyung leaned back on her hands. “All I know is we leave at first light.”
Seulgi groaned and stood, brushing soot from her trousers. She offered a hand to pull Kyung from her resting place. “Fine. But you’re tending the horses.” Kyung stood, brushing off her pants as well. “When you’re finished, take your boots off and come to my tent. It will be cold tonight.”
Kyung grinned and let herself be pulled up. “You sound eager to share a bed.”
“You wish.”
She retreated to her tent, kicking off her boots and crawling under the fur with an internal groan. Why? Why her? Why now?
It wasn't the kingdom that upset her, or even having to answer to the man on the throne. It was the fact that her life made sense beyond the wall. Out here, a blade meant survival, an animal meant food, and silence was sacred. Now, she was being called into a world of silken lies and half-smiles, of rules spoken in riddles and orders dressed as pleasantries.
The forest asked nothing of her. The crown never stopped asking.
Still, orders were orders. And she’d follow them. Because even if she hated the politics, the nobles, the rigid etiquette of palace life—
She was still faithful to the crown.