The Blood Red Rose {Shin-ah x Reader}

Chapter- 6 Meeting Yona and Yun

There was no time to hide, and nowhere to go.

(Y/N) had no other option but to squeeze herself into the furthest corner, and huddle there with her arms wrapped around her knees.

The intruders were coming.

She could could judge how close they were from the muffled scuffle of their steadily approaching footsteps. They were walking at a pace that doubled the frequency of her already erratic heartbeats, causing her pulse to drum obnoxiously in her ears.

Every one of her limbs were tensed, and she was prepared to jump at a moment's notice. Whatever it would take to protect both herself and Seriyuu. Whether she'd have to fight the intruders off without a weapon, or run with her friend through the winding maze to get them off of Seriyuu's trail- she'd be ready.

"Ao... hide," she heard her friend whisper anxiously to the small squirrel beside him, who simply chattered back happily and gnawed on the acorn clutched between her paws.

(Y/N) spared a moment to glance at Seriyuu from a distance. It was impossible not to admire him.

He was standing with a rigid posture, his muscles taught and his back pressed against the wall. His mouth was curled down in a tooth revealing grimace, and his hands shook around the handle of his sword.

Although his face was mostly covered, every portion of it that was visible seemed clouded with an indescribable kind of pain. He was like a trapped animal, seconds away from lashing out.

Sadness wrenched its way into her chest, but she didn't have time to revel in her pity. Because just then, two figures stepped into the light.

"Hello!" Came the warm greeting of a feminine voice. A small framed girl pulled back the hood of her cloak, and (Y/N) gasped as she took notice of the stranger's unique blood-red hair. There was only one woman in the entire kingdom who was known to have such strikingly vibrant curls.

"Princess Yona?" She breathed lowly to herself, in a state of utter awe at the royal presence that stood before her. Her soft inquiry made the figure beside the princess turn his head, and frown at her. She didn't shrink back under his curious stare though. Rather, she examined him right back.

He had a rather eccentric look about him, with a light pink feather sticking out of his disheveled tan hair, and a beaded headband decorating his forehead. The frills in his outfit made her clothes pale in comparison, and she was suddenly self- conscious of the unfashionable rags billowing over her body.

The fear that had just been coursing through her veins suddenly depleted a little as she realized that these intruders were unarmed and relaxed. There was a chance that they were simply harmless visitors. She couldn't be more relieved.

But it seemed that Seriyuu didn't share the feeling. He released an animalistic growl and lunged forward with his blade extended. It was so explosive and and out of character for him that it made (Y/N) jump.

The princess maintained her composure, however. Her eyes twinkled with irrefutable kindness as the weapon trembled in his shakey grasp. Despite her companion's desperate pleas for her to step away from the crazy man, she straightened her shoulders, held her head high, and stood her ground. (Y/N) would be lying if she claimed that she wasn't impressed.

"Pukyuu!!" Ao chimed in excitedly, abandoning her acorn and rushing over to greet the too strangers despite Seriyuu's worried protests.

"What is this animal, with its cheeks all puffed out?" The clearly frantic boy exclaimed as he tugged on the sleeves of the princess' cloak. "How much food can this thing stuff in his mouth?"