Yeon's POV
"Yeon-ssi?!" a voice calls and my body is being shaken violently repeatedly.
"Wake up!" my eyes snap open, directly looking into the sun.
"Ouch" I say and turn my head to the side, the heat of the sun made my eyes water and a drop of tear slides out while I try to get myself to sit up.
"What happened?" I ask Wonwoo, looking around for the Sorcerer.
I was just standing here…talking with the deranged man and the people…
"Are you okay?" Wonwoo asks, pressing his palm to my forehead.
"Five men died at the yellow river four days ago, it was ugly" the woman who I saw just minutes ago passes by.
She is dressed exactly the same and is speaking exactly the same.
"The mayor's son was a part of them!" her partner responds and they continue walking.
The world must have paused when I touched the sorcerer, now I'm right back where I was, but on the floor.
"Go away, nothing to see here" Wonwoo says, chasing off the crowd that is starting to form around me.
"You suddenly fainted" he says to me and I groan, his arms feel good around me.
"Stop rubbing into me, I know you're fine" he says and gets up, pulling me up with him.
Aww dang it, a man is not allowed to play around anymore is he?
"Don't pull pranks Yeon-ssi" Wonwoo warns me.
"I was not pulling a prank" I say under my breath like a rebellious teenager and he sighs.
"The life of a slave is not worth anything, it can be taken any second, be careful" he says and starts walking ahead of me.
I would like that to happen now would I?
I have a goal to meet, five emperors to win and a life to leave.
I wouldn't die any time soon.
Quietly, I follow behind Wonwoo, all plan to escape should be aborted and turned into plans to get closer.
I need all the closure into the royal family now more than ever.
"This is my silversmith" Wonwoo says and nudges his chin towards a shop, "wait outside while I go to him" he orders me and I raise my hands in mock surrender.
"Yes my Lord" I say and he shakes his head before ducking and entering.
I fold my arm in front of the shop, watching as people go about their day.
The smell of various pheromones fills the air; the smell of hunger, sweat, tiredness and most of all, life.
A woman has a young child walking with her, the girl turns to look at me and smiles brightly.
"Mother, it's the pretty storyteller" she says and points to me, I give the child a small smile too, happy to be recognized by one of my many customers.
Her mother glares at me and tugs on the child's hand to walk faster.
"I told you to stop talking about that man, he's bad luck" I hear the mother scolding her child and it stings.
'Well your face is bad luck that's why your husband is always hiding under a giseang's skirt!' my omega responds inside of me.
'Shut up' I say to him and he huffs at me.
I watch them go, the girl still looking back at me longingly, a sweet child.
I think Saerom was her name, a name I would give my daughter…if I ever live long enough to have one.
"THERE HE IS!" a man's voice screams and I look up in time to see an old…friend?, of mine.
Running towards me with an axe in his hand and an angry scowl on his face.
"S-sir, wait!" I say, holding out my hand.
"Get him!" He shouts once more and two men behind him starts to run, all three of them charging at me with weapons in their hands.
What number of escaping death will this be?
Now, I really, really can't die.
That would just be a terrible thing.
I turn around and start to run away from them, my body is still weak from seeing the sorcerer and whatever it was that he did to me, but I run anyways.
"Sorry!" I say in apology to everyone I hit by mistake, the market is too crowded today, it's an advantage and a disadvantage.
"GU YEON! Pay me my money you rascal!" my pursuer says with a loud voice, the distance between us is good but not good.
I stumble and fall into a puddle of water, making the women around scream with worry.
"Sorry" I apologize once more, getting up to keep on running.
It's tough out here, maybe I think I prefer the palace than this place.
"Stop right there you dog!" the man shouts but I don't slow down my speed.
"I don't even owe you that much! It's just a yakgwa!" I yell over my shoulder to them.
"You ungrateful human, then pay for it!" the man says, already running out of breath the same way I've ran out of breath.
My lung burn and my stomach hurts.
Morons are everywhere.
I can't stop, not with the axe in his hand, that thing is too sharp for me to dream of stopping or slowing down.
I sight a shop ahead, it looks secure and like it has space enough for me to hide in.
Maybe if I end up there, I can beg the owner to hide me, two blinks and a pout would do it.
I look behind me, they are getting closer and I dive right into the shop.
My legs give out from all the running and somehow, instead of on the bare floor, I have fallen into something hard yet soft.
Oh.
Oh.
"If I keep meeting you like this, I would think you are after me" the man's deep voice say.
Slowly and ashamedly, I turn my head to find his intense eyes looking down at me and his mouth pursed.
His strong scent floods my senses.
It's the emperor.
I am in the emperor's laps.