A Nine-Tailed Love

Chapter 8

Dae-Hyun

I sat, kneeling on the grass as the injured fox took off. My heart thumped with anxiety as the memory of her golden eyes caused my heart to flutter. She was beautiful.

I clenched my fist as I rose and turned to face my guards, who approached on horseback. Baek slowly trotted up to me and bobbed his head as if he wanted to go after the fox.

I shook my head at him and grabbed his reins as a soldier jumped off his horse. "Your majesty." He bowed his head. "Which way did she go?" He asked, panicked.

I furrowed my brow at him, "What do you mean where did she go? Who are you looking for?"

The guard rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his gaze to the ground. "The fox. She's a kumiho. Did you hear her cry out?"

"That thing is a woman? No, don't chase her." I scoffed and picked up the bloodied arrow and my bow. "Leave her be. You of all people should know the legends. She can and will kill you." 

Except she didn't attack me… why? I thought as I walked to Baek's side and climbed on. "I do not need any more women at the palace. There are plenty there."

The guard chuckled, "But you've never looked at any of them."

I scowled at him, "Yah, come here…." I beckoned him closer.

He followed my order and stepped up to me. I raised my hand and smacked him on the backside of his head. He winced and quickly rubbed the sore spot and bowed his head.

"Be happy it's the only thing I'm going to do to you." I scolded. "Let's go back to the palace." I ordered only to look back at the trail of blood this mystery fox had left behind.

The sky was clear, and the sun’s rays poured through the thick branches above. I shifted my gaze to the sky to check the clouds, only to see that there were none to be found. Nodding, I nudged Baek and headed back toward the palace with my guards.

Once we arrived back, I immediately dismounted from Baek and handed the reins to the guard in front of me. "Take him back, I have somewhere I need to be." I ordered, stalking off toward the throne room.

"Dae-Hyun!" Gon called out to me. 

I stopped in my tracks and turned to him. "Don't tell me you were the one who sent them." I spoke in a low tone.

"I didn't send any one, I'm just now getting back myself. There's an animal bleeding all over the forest. Did something attack you? Are you hurt?" He grabbed my shoulders and checked me over like a worried mother does her child.

I brushed his hands off of me and pressed my finger to his chest. "Leave that fox alone. Don't you dare bring her here. Let her live her life in the wild. She's a kumiho and you already know that's all bad news." I spat with anger.

Gon's eyes widened, "H-how do you k-know she's a k-k-kumiho?" He stuttered, clearly this man was frightened.

"Never mind how I know, just leave her alone. I'd rather not have to deal with you idiots getting killed by her." I pressed before turning around.

"Sheesh, what's his deal? It's just a fox." I heard Gon complain as he went off in the opposite direction with haste.

I turned the corner into the main hall from the foyer as a barrage of shuffling feet sounded from behind me. I let out a heavy sigh and continued. The sentinel found me, and now I get to listen to their bickering once more.

"Your majesty, we need to discuss-"

I raised my hand to silence them. "Who sent my guards to the forest without my knowledge?" My tone shifted into one of anger as I kept my voice low.

Bool-he smirked at me. The others shrugged their shoulders, unaware of what was going on. I clenched my fist and let out a harsh breath. "You are dismissed for the rest of the day." Pivoting on my heel, I marched toward my room. I needed to be alone.

My evening was spent tossing and turning. Why couldn't I get her eyes out of my mind? Her fur was so soft and golden eyes reminded me of the sun. I needed to see her again, I thought to myself.

At dawn, I will go searching for her. She's hurt, and it's my fault. The least I could do is help her. I sighed as I sat up, pulling the ribbon loose from my hanbok. I slid out of my two top layers, leaving my torso naked, and plopped back down on my bed. "This is ridiculous."

Closing my eyes, I trailed back to earlier that day. The sky was clear, and the sun’s rays poured through the thick branches above. I envisioned riding back to the lake and changing my approach toward her. Instead of taking Gon's bow, I should have refused. I wouldn't be here having a difficult time sleeping if none of this had ever happened.

I sat up and shouted in frustration with clenched fists, "Arg! Why, why was I so stupid."

I rolled onto my side and tried again to fall asleep, but to no avail. I decided to change into my less official clothing and snuck out of the palace as quietly as I could as the sun peeked out from behind the mountains.

Running over to the horse’s stalls, I searched for Baek only to find him wide awake and ready to ride.

"You ready to go? We need to find that girl." I whispered to him as I unlatched the door.

It's as if he knew what I was trying to say and kept his neighs down as I quickly latched his reins on him and hopped onto his back. "Let's go." 

Baek managed to tiptoe out of the gates before taking off in a full sprint through the dewy grass leading to the forest trail.

I had no idea where we were heading but it seemed as if Baek knew exactly where to go. Her dried blood led a trail through the seemingly untouched brush as Baek effortlessly hopped over fallen trees and through the mud puddles with ease.

"Baek I need you to be quieter." I whispered into his ear. 

He bobbed his head and slowed down to a trot as we made our way over to the base of a mountain.

"What the hell is this?" I muttered to myself as I dismounted.

He seemed unsettled by something and ran toward the entrance of a cave, neighing frantically for me to come over.

I clutched my sword as I ran over to him and settled him down. "Hey, hey it's okay. Calm down what is it?" I shifted my gaze to the inside of this cave.

"Who does this belong to?" I whispered to myself as I took a cautious step inside. My eyes scanned the tiny living space until they landed on a ball of white fur in the corner shaking in the middle of a makeshift bed.

I immediately rushed over and saw that it was a woman. Her body was soaked in sweat. Kneeling beside her I placed the back side of my hand to her cheeks then her forehead. She was burning up.

Her eyes slowly opened as her head turned to face me, "Who are you?" She croaked.

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter who I am but you need medical attention right now." 

She shook her head and rolled over away from me. My eyes immediately dropped to a bleeding makeshift bandage across her leg. 

"Miss you're bleeding and you're running a fever!" I shouted. I turned my attention to the front of the cave and saw that Baek had disappeared. "Shit."

I took off my vest and then my jacket and wrapped it around her before scooping her into my arms. "You need to be seen by a doctor." 

Her breath became labored as she growled at me, "Sage." She whispered. "You were the one who shot me with the arrow."

Sage? What is this woman talking about? "What do you mean by sage?" I asked her.

"You smell like sage to me. That's how I recognized you." Her voice strained.

She… she already recognized my scent? What did she mean? I scanned over her body and realized it wasn't a blanket over her but a set of tails. Adjusting her in my arms I saw a set of white fox ears upon her head. Is this the kumiho?

My heart throbbed in my ears as anxiety gushed through my veins. "Miss, I can't just leave you here to die. Please just let me take you-"

She snapped at me and growled, "No, I am not going anywhere." She pushed herself out of my lap and back onto the makeshift bed. "Leave me."

Rushed footsteps approached from the outside causing me to panic. Who was here? I rose and turned to face the noise to see Baek had returned with Gon and my medicine man.

"Gon, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"When Baek showed up without you I grabbed the medicine man in case you were injured and he brought us here. What is this place?" He looked at me with a worried expression. "Are you hurt?" He asked, running up to me.

I shook my head at him and pointed to the woman. "She is. I'm fine. Yun, take care of her." I ordered and stormed out of the cave with Gon trailing behind me.

Gon shoved my shoulder, "Dae what the hell man!" He sneered. 

I pivoted to face him, "That's the woman I shot yesterday." I shot back, "The blood in the forest is hers and now she's ill. What the hell have I done?" I knelt, grabbing the sides of my head.