Some moments ago
" The masked assasin is inside the carriage", said Han jum, the Queen smiled , " I have done what you ask now I will like to receive what I had asked for", said Han jum , the Queen smiled , " let me see that masked assasin first before I hand over the phoenix stone", said the Queen with a grin , two cunning people in one room , an important negotiate that was a huge bargain , Han jum smiled while gesturing for his men who were at the back of him to go bring Eun Chen, some moments later they came in with Eun Chen carrying her like a sack of potatoes before laying her on the floor , a sack still on her head while she was still unconscious, " the masked assasin is here before you , may the phoenix stone be given to me,.....", asked Han jum in an almost frustrated yet greedy tone , the Queen cracked her neck, " I want to see her face", the Queen requested once more , Han jum let out a frustrated sigh as he gestured for his men again to take off the sack which they obeyed, they took it off and revealed her face , the Queen was surprised at the sight eventhough she had known it was her but at the same time she had never thought it was her , the Queen chuckled softly then it turned into an uproar laughter, it was funny how the masked assasin had always been near her , she was always close to death but she never realized, finally satisfied after laughing , she gestured for one of her lady in waiting who held a royal satin cloth which was tied with a good ribbon , something was inside , something really valuable was inside that silk cloth , " you earned this therefore you can have it , under the Queens orders, I bestow the phoenix stone unto you", she said with a smile as she gestured for her lady in waiting to hand it over to Han jum, " I will like to see it before it is handed over to me", said Han jum, the Queen looked shocked at his request, " not to disrespect your Majesty, I pulled out the sack from Eun Chen's face for you, to prove I was trustworthy , can't you do the same for your fellow negotiator", said Han jum taking a step closer , the Queen eyebrow furrowed at what he said , he was trying to bring her to his level , to remind her that they were slaves to each other, no superior and no inferior, " we clearly don't trust each other so don't take it the wrong way if I am just trying to be cautious ".
The Queen knew this wasn't the time to be prideful , to get what she wants her dignity as the Queen was sold , they were slaves to each other , the Queen nodded to her lady in waiting who looked surprised, the Queen taking orders from the royal chancellor, but she obeyed the Queen without question unraveling the cloth which revealed the phoenix stone in it's affirmation and glory but it looked dull , like the colour was fading away but Han jum was too consumed by his greediness that he didn't care, he bowed his head slowly to the Queen, one of his men drew out his sword and within a second blood was spilled, the lady in waiting present fell limply to the floor, her torso mercilessly sliced , the wound so deep , the Queen looked at the cold corpse, " you will take her with you, do anything with her body, I don't care", said the Queen coldly, the exchange that happened today was confidential , whoever in the palace who knew about it was immediately executed, Han jum smiled, this was the beginning of doom.
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In the cell, present moment.
Eun Chen carefully picked on the lock of the binders that were clasped on Lee kwons wrist , Lee Kwon gazed at her softly as she picked on the lock using the pen knife she had hidden away, after a short period of time his hands were free , deep engraved marks of the binders were left on his wrist , Eun Chen took hold of his wrist looking at it softly and worriedly but her worry was interrupted when Lee Kwon took hold of her hand which had a deep cut , he looked up at her examining her bruised face , her bruised neck like someone had strangled her , he softly touched her face then her neck , he gently pulled her cloth away a little revealing her shoulder which also had marks , his eyes were that of worry and anger , angry at whoever did this to her, he wanted to kill them, he immediately removed his cloak then he tore it, Eun Chen was looking at him as of he had gone crazy, she immediately held his hand , " what are you doing?, it's cold in here , why are you tearing your only layer of warmth", asked Eun Chen quizzically still holding him by his hand, a flash of panic could be seen in her eyes , Lee Kwon looked down at her hands, " your wound is too deep , it is prone to get infected , you may end up sick if it is not treated", saying that he softly took hold of her hand wrapping his torn piece of garment on her hand , " we don't have any herbs right now , covering it up for now will be the best option", said Lee Kwon , Eun Chen noticed he looked exhausted , there was rarely any sign of torture on him but it felt like he was going through something.
After he had wrapped her hand , he smiled softly at her, as his hand carresed her cheek , " you are happy we are locked up?", asked Eun Chen , Lee Kwon shook his head, " I'm just happy you are safe and you are with me master, whether in a brutal state or not I am happy you are alive", said Lee Kwon , his words warmed her heart greatly but she didn't show it, she quickly cleared her throat as she rested her back her back against the wall, " I'm happy that you are also alive ....", sahe said turning away from him , Lee Kwon smiled scooting closer to her , " what about Min yu?", asked Eun Chen curiously, Lee Kwon sighed softly, " he is in a vegetative state, you were right that duel was meant to kill me , it turned out the Queen poisoned the sword of my opponent with lacilya( a strong herb that causes nervous breakdown,and extreme internal hemorrhage), , Min yu wound was not that deep so they were able to stop the poison from spreading but he is still not waking up", said Lee Kwon bowing his head, " he shouldn't have fought in my stead", said Lee Kwon remorsefully, " he made that decision himself so stop blaming yourself , sooner or later he will wake up , lacilya is not that potent, if he's wound was not that deep, he will wake up", she said assuringly, Lee Kwon gave her a soft smile which she responded too with a soft smile too.
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The night was cold , Lee Kwon was wide awake looking out for both him and Eun Chen, his eyes hadn't left the dungeon gates, briefly looking over at Eun Chen who lay beside him , she was also awake, Lee Kwon gazed at the injury on her forehead before he reached out and softly rubbed on it, it was healing already, that was quick it seemed like a fresh injury when she came in this morning, all her wounds seemed fresh especially the cut on her hand, Eun Chen looked at him curiously, " aren't you going to sleep, you look exhausted", said Lee Kwon, " tsk,..., you are the one that should sleep , you look tired, I will keep watch tonight ", said Eun Chen in her usual sassy tone , Lee Kwon smiled , he missed her sassy behaviour, " two of us can't keep watch at the same time ", said Lee Kwon , there was silence for a while before Eun Chen spoke, " to tell you the truth I don't want to keep watch I want to sleep, but I can't sleep", she said , Lee Kwon understood what she was feeling , the anxiousness he felt anytime he heard the noises of gates made him alert making him not to sleep a wink, in his two days of capture this making the third day , he sighed before laying beside her, a little far apart from her, " I can't also sleep ,...but I don't want to sleep ", said Lee Kwon putting his hand under his head, " if both of us don't feel like sleeping,then ....", turning his head facing Eun Chen who was looking up, " let's talk", said Lee Kwon , Eun Chen glanced at him, " talk?", she questioned, " let's not talk as master and pupil or maid and young master, let's talk like ordinary people who had led ordinary lives", " you know nothing about our lives are ordinary", Eun Chen chuckled as she interrupted him with those words , " but,..., we all experienced an ordinary day at least once in our lives", said Lee Kwon this time lying sideways making his full body face Eun Chen who still lay flat on her back. This time they were a little closer, there was silence for a short while , Lee Kwon smiled softly , " if you want...", " the only day my life was ever ordinary was when I worked for you as a maid,....., for the first time I had a space where I could breathe comfortably without having to smell blood , it was the first time I could move without fear of being attacked ", she adjusted herself this time laying on her side , her body fully facing Lee Kwon, " at those moments I forgot I was a ruthless assasin and all I wished for was a normal life ", said Eun Chen , a small smirk playing on her lips , " mine was when you came...", he said softly, a smile on his lips , Eun Chen looked at him quizzically , " when I came ?,...., what impact did I make for you to have an ordinary life, it was clearly the opposite, in the beginning we were in a loose and gain situation....", " that was what made my life feel ordinary , I loved your company , I was excited when I saw you, something I never felt in my household , for the first time,...., I was happy, I met someone who understood me , who comforted me , who encouraged me eventhough it passed out as a threat", said Lee Kwon sincerely, his voice was like a warm whisper , to her he was like a pillow of sincerity and warmth , she moved closer to him , Lee Kwon stretched out his left arm as Eun Chen rested her head comfortably on his arm while pulling her closer to himself, his chin resting on her temple , he was warm, they were both warm , whether from the heat emnating from the spiral marks or it was just the comfort of each other , they didn't know where ther warmth came from but it was comforting.
Lee Kwon cuddled her pulling her closer as his right hand stroked her hair softly, " I was never cared for by my father, my mother died, rejected by society and condemned by the country , I was an eyesore in everyone's eyes, I never felt like a person, everyday I wished to die, if my birth was a mistake then my existence itself was a misfortune , Eun Chen looked up at him, their faces very close, " as an assasin we only had two choices to live or to die, you had to fight for yourself , I fought to live , my comrades fought to live , we were all scared to die , my comrades were scared of what could lead to their deaths , but,....I was scared of death itself, the thought of not existing in this world , the thought of leaving this world as someone despised and who is haunted down by everyone , it will be terrifying ", said Eun Chen clenching Lee kwons clothes at the thought of it, Lee Kwon knew how she felt , he was afraid of death itself, the fact that you won't exist in this world and everyone will be happy that you are gone, his heart sank.
His hand softly soothed her cheek , he gazed down softly at her and before he knew it he leaned in and captured her lips with his , giving her a light and gentle kiss before pulling away, he stroked her hair fondly, while Eun Chen smiled softly, her hand was on his back, " we both won't die in here , we will leave this place together , eventhough we part ways I will never forget you", said Lee Kwon ,his voice so sincere and light that she felt tears welling in , " then promise me..., if I end up dying, prom..."," don't say that , we are both getting out of here alive ", " we know that won't be the case ,....", " if that won't be the case then there is also a possibility that I will end up dead", said Lee Kwon, " then we will promise each other,.....whoever ends up alive should move forward but not to forget the other", said Eun Chen , her eyes filled with determination and absolute seriousness, but you could see her tears were already flowing , Lee Kwon looked at her small frame of a face , he wasn't doing this for he knew they were getting out of here alive , he cuddled her closer to himself , patting her gently on her back which was soothing, " don't think useless thoughts , just sleep", said Lee Kwon," continue patting my back", she said softly snuggling closer as tears continuously slipped away from her eyes," okay I will", said Lee Kwon warmly as he continued soothing her back not allowing her to speak anymore.
That night, that very night that both slept on the comfort and warmth of each other , the two days of night watch and exhaustion was replaced with a heartfelt sleep, they weren't worried about tomorrow or any other days and nights , they didn't know if they could die any second from now , what mattere was they were sleeping in the embrace of each other and that was enough for them.