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Chapter four: Trust

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I was already complete
when i met him

He just filled my life
with so much color

To go on
without him
seemed absurd

B. Diaz

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Taehyung

The last thing he expected when he woke up that morning was to find Lady Luna upright and pointing his own bow and arrow at him.

He halted in his tracks just outside his tent. He'd been intending to bathe by the lake before relieving Hoseok from the morning watch along the main road—everyone rotated this duty, not so much to look out for danger, but to spot wagons carting potential swagger.

But there was the girl, weapon quaking in her hands. Her stance and grip were horrible.

If he wasn't worried about her intentions, he might have found this moment, this girl, incredible. She wasn't very big. But she was beautiful. Her scowl, however, he liked very much. That and her daring, her selflessness, which he hadn't expected when he first laid eyes on her. Those things made her stunning.

Self-revulsion rattled through him for thinking this way. For allowing her to churn his senses, proving that he hadn't learned a thing from the last time he'd gotten distracted by a girl.

And this one had an arrow clumsily pointed at him. If she had the gall to release it, she would turn out a very messy shot and injure herself in the process.

How in the hell had she gotten out of the binding?

He still felt guilty about leaving her there all night, even though he had no reason to feel thus.

He wasn't sure he believed her story about being forced to marry the king.

For all he knew, she was madly in love with the moron. For all he knew, Lady Luna was loyal to Seokjin. Guess he was about to find out.

Again. How in the hell had she gotten out of the binding?

"Impressive," he said, crossing his arms. "But can you shoot?"

"From this distance I'm sure I can hit something important."

The corners of his mouth lifted. He could, he would, take her down easy. Bow or no bow. He was faster than she gave him credit for.

All at once, she dropped the weapon. Taehyung blinked in surprise.

"What the..." Jimin said behind him.

Jungkook and Jieun came out of their tents at the same time, both rendered speechless.

Jieun jolted toward Lady Luna, but Taehyung immediately shook his head in warning, and Jungkook held her back.

Taehyung regarded the girl wearily. "If you run, I'll catch you."

That didn't impress her. "I could have run hours ago, but I didn't."

"Because...?" he asked, drawing out the question.

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling and doing magnificent things to neckline of her dress. "I want to join your group."

Jieun was the first to react. She laughed. Loud and obnoxious as usual.

Jungkook clamped a hand over her mouth, and she went nuts. She hated being restrained as much as he did. In that regard, they were very much alike.

Taehyung retrieved his weapons, watching the girl cautiously as he bent down and straightened again.

There was no way in Hades their band would permit another person into their circle, particularly one with an upbringing above and beyond their own. She was of noble blood. She was fooling herself.

She was hiding something from them. Based on the creases in Jungkook and Jieun's faces, they'd drawn the same conclusion.

Apparently, history was repeating itself by thrusting yet another female into Taehyung's path, hoping to massage his trust into submission until the right moment when the girl could get her talons into him. Into his group.

Maybe this girl was masterminding a scheme to lure them into Seokjin's grasp. How she was planning to do this without outside help was up for debate.

But being the king's property, and the future wife of a diabolical man like the king, it was best not to underestimate her.

"Explain," he said, curious to know what excuse she'd come up with.

Lady Luna seemed discouraged but pushed ahead. "There's a shipment arriving in a week to the palace. It's worth enough to support every soul in the kingdom for a year."

Taehyung wanted to strangle her on the spot. Of all sources of manipulation, she was going to use starving people.

She was going to target their greatest vulnerability as a means to ensnare his band. There was no doubt now. She had to have been lying about her own neighbors in Busan, the ones she claimed to be helping by marrying Seokjin.

She wouldn't formulate this sort of plan if it were a truly sensitive subject for her, if her people were really going through the same turmoil as the villagers of Busan.

"This is a joke?" he asked.

Lady Luna frowned. "You won't be able to intercept the shipment on the road. It's being transported underground. I don't know where the passage starts, but I know where in the palace it ends.

I know how the guards operate. I know how the king operates. I know the process, where the shipment will be stashed, the castle's weak spots. My friend, Jisoo, can help if we let her know—"

"Why?"

"Pardon?"

"Why would you help us?"

Jungkook roared, his hand launching from Jieun's mouth and fisting in pain. She'd bitten him and wasted no time adding to the question.

"He means, what's in it for you, you little—"

"I don't want to be married to the king," Lady Luna said simply. "I never did. This will get me out of it. As long as I accquire a portion of the wealth for Busan. That's the deal."

"So you're not asking us to kill the king for you?" Jieun flared.

Lady Luna gaped. "I'm—I'm not a murderer."

"Seokjin might retaliate against your family for your disloyalty," Taehyung pointed out.

"Yes, he would. If he knew I was working with you. I can keep my face hidden the way you do when we cross into the castle, you can send him a message that you killed me. He'll want nothing to do with Busan after that. He won't even know its people have come into riches. I can let my family in on the truth later, once it's safe, but I'll have to stay away from them after that."

"And that would be worth it?"

"If it keeps them fed and me free, then yes."

This made so much sense that it actually gave Taehyung pause. She might be telling the truth. Who would want to be married to Seokjin? The king was a pig widely rumored to have appetites that leaned toward masochistic. He was just as cruel as his father, only his cruelty existed inside a much younger, stronger, more energetic body. Still, trust wasn't handed out merely because the motivation seemed plausible.

"What's in this shipment?" Jimin asked.

Taehyung shot him a look. Why was Jimin was humoring the girl?

She hesitated. "A pendant that will make my ring look like a pebble."

Fact or falsehood? Real or lies?

"And gold," she continued. "But you'll have to disperse the riches slowly over time, not all at once or the king will notice the villagers living beyond their means."

Taehyung was insulted. He didn't need this girl telling him how to take care of his own people.

"You must think we're stupid," he said finally.

Lady Luna flinched. He enjoyed watching her flinch. Matter of fact, he enjoyed her discomfort far too much.

"I do if you think your alternative is better," she dared. "You were planning to pawn my life for a bounty from the king, right?"

It was Taehyung's turn to flinch. She scoffed. "It's a lost cause. If you've been paying any attention you'd know the king is not that sentimental. Not when saving me would mean he'd have to cave under the demands of Taehyung Kim. He wouldn't tuck his tail between his legs so publicly, especially to the kingdom's most notorious renegade. He'd just as soon let you kill me."

Taehyung clenched his teeth. She was right.

"I guess we'll have to kill you, then," Jieun sang.

"Or trust me," Lady Luna said.

He pretended to give it some thought, then said, "No."

A bevy of emotions flitted across her face before she settled on one that seemed to cause her pain, and a flash of something else he couldn't identify.

She lifted her sleeve and unwound a plain corded bracelet from her wrist, taking her time as if this action required ceremony. She stared at the bracelet and then stepped toward Jungkook, holding it out to him.

Jungkook's brows pinched. A silent communication—an understanding—stirred between them that Taehyung had no chance of translating.

"Give this to him," she said to Jungkook.

Seconds went by before he turned to Taehyung and dropped the bracelet in his palm.

"She's telling the truth," Jungkook said.

"A bracelet?" Jieun demanded. "Oh, how reassuring. We don't have anything to worry about."

Lady Luna looked away while Taehyung thumbed the braided leather, so light in his hand. Rough and delicate at the same time. This bracelet meant something to her.

Jungkook explained its value, how people from his region were raised to give all of themselves through these bracelets, to profess their absolute devotion. Handing them over was like handing over a shred of one's own skin, one's faith, one's word, one's promise, one's character.

It wasn't enough to change Taehyung's mind, but it was enough to appease him.

He was about to ask Jimin to tie her up again while they convened as a group, but then a familiar whistling tune road the current to their camp, carried to them by the mocking birds nesting in the trees.

Their signal. A message from Hoseok. He'd spotted a carriage worth robbing.

The group grabbed their weapons, then glanced at Taehyung, waiting for his instruction.

To Jieun's outrage, he swiped her ax and tossed it to the ground, ordered her to watch their prisoner, then took off with the boys, Jieun's curses trailing behind them.

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Luna

Jieun grabbed me to tie me back up, but after two steps, once I was sure she wasn't expecting it, I used a move Jisoo once taught me.

I snaked my leg around hers and brought us both tumbling to the ground. I landed on top of her, grabbed her axe, and pressed it against her neck.

Her face boiled with rage. "I knew it," she squawked. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew—"

"We're going after them." I stood and motioned with the axe for her to get up. "Show me the way or I'll...I'll cut you."

"You'll have to cut me, then."

I admired her loyalty.

"I could do that, and then take off, and lead Seokjin back here to your friends. You may have blindfolded me, but there are other ways of marking the woods."

She paled.

"Which is it?" I said.

"Why do you want to follow them?"

"Apparently, I'll have to prove myself to you lot. I can't do that tied to a tree. Of course, I got free once before. I can do it again," I bluffed.

I hated doing this to her, but unfortunately I didn't have time to ease into their group. I had only a week. I needed to gain their trust fast.

Helping them in any way I could while ambushing another transport seemed like a good way. I hoped I was right. I wasn't accustomed to relying purely on instinct.

Jieun glowered at me, battling with her instinct. She could fight me for the axe, but my sneaky ways must have convinced her not to misjudge my abilities.

Grunting, she got up, dusted herself off, and stormed ahead of me while I continued to poke her with my far-too-heavy weapon. She mounted her horse and helped me up behind her.

"Remember," I said, gripping the axe. "If you knock me off this animal, I will find my way to the palace, and I'll memorize every tree branch on the way. I'm fluent in forests. Back in Busan, it's my happy place."

I sensed Jieun rolling her eyes as she dug her heels into the horse and sent it flying.

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We reached the group just in time to see Taehyung shoot the reigns out of the coach driver's hands.

Jimin, Jungkook, and Hoseok unleashed on the guards. Judging from the model of the vehicle, I divined the travelers to be members of the aristocracy.

Jieun hid in the bushes, her anger at me shifting to eagerness. I'd counted on that.

Forcing her into the forefront of the action, I'd tapped into her long-awaited desire to finally play a part.

She wore the same expression my sister did whenever she was about to sink her teeth into a piece of cake, which didn't happen often.

Wordlessly, I handed Jieun her axe. She took it without thinking.

"Those were empty threats back there, weren't they?"

"I told you I wanted to help. Your axe is quite heavy, by the way."

She smirked. "I still don't trust you."

"Understood. But we can't leave now."

A battle cry caught our attention. Who knew such a sound could erupt from Hoseok's mouth? He dove into a sword fight with one of the guards while Jimin apprehended a rotund, bewigged, and bejeweled man inside the coach, stripping him of his gems.

Jieun let out a screech as another guard swung his weapon in the air, ready to slash Jungkook across the back unbeknownst to him.

Before either of us could react, Taehyung was there. It happened in slow motion for me. He galloped ahead and bounded over a fallen log, agile as a cat, lifting his bow and shooting while still in the air. The arrow sailed straight through a tunnel of arms and weapons.

The guard went down before Taehyung's feet hit the ground. I expelled a breath I hadn't known I was holding.

Jieun crashed into the scene, hurrying toward Jungkook, ramming the butt of her ax into an assailant's stomach on her way, then spinning around and taking out another man about to pummel Hoseok. Her speed and artistry were something fierce to behold.

I focused on Jimin searching the interior of the coach for booty while the fat aristocrat quivered in his seat, hands bound.

Jimin wasn't looking in the right place. Some carriages were equipped with secret built-in compartments to hide riches. Our carriage hadn't had one, but I had seen them before. I ran toward the vehicle, hoping to come to Jimin's aid.

Taehyung choose that precise moment to knock a warrior unconscious and then whip around, his dark eyes locking onto mine and narrowing, paralyzing me on the spot.

We stared at each other. Was he furious? Shocked? Did I care?

Movement to his left caught my attention—a sword raising, the blade flashing like an angry face, and I envisioned it carving through him, his blood seeping into the soil.

My legs cut across the space, sprinting so fast I could have been one of his arrows. I dove for the shield teetering on the chest of the limp warrior at Taehyung's feet.

Shoving Taehyung out of my way, I grabbed the shield and swung it upward, squeezing my eyes shut.

The sword collided against the safeguard, the impact pounding me into the ground. Something sharp tore through my arm, causing a monstrous sound to rip from my lungs. The earth split and lost all shape and dissolved beneath me.

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The first thing I heard was Jieun and Jungkook barking at each other.

"He told you to watch her!"

"Jesus. She had an axe pointed at my neck. What the hell was I supposed to do?"

"You didn't have to get in the way. I was doing fine without you!"

"If I hadn't been there to rib that guard, you and your tall tanned ass would be fastened to the road right now."

"My what would be where?"

"It was a clean raid!"

"Define clean!"

"The only man who died was about to kill you. We got the goods, didn't we? We got out of there before they knew what hit them, but nooooooo. No thanks to us. We did you boys a favor. Hell, I despise the girl, but even she saw that sword coming before Taehyung did. He'd be missing a head right now because he wasn't paying attention!"

"Only because she distracted him!"

"Since when does Taehyung get distracted, numskull?"

"Listen, halfwit—"

"Halfwhat!?"

A sharp whistling stopped them, followed by Jimin's voice. "I do believe our lady is waking up."

The camp came into focus, followed by a bunch of gaping faces, all highlighted by the midday sun filtering through the forest. They'd tucked me into a pallet of blankets beside the unlit fire pit.

My gaze skipped over to the figure leaning against a tree. Taehyung tensed, arrested in the act of studying me, his expression admiring and confused and...concerned. I rolled over and groaned, clutching my arm, which was wrapped in cloth and spotted with blood.

Taehyung crouched down next to me. "How's the wound?"

"You tell me," I gulped.

He almost grinned, and I found myself straining toward the very possibility of that grin.

Until he leaned back. "You blocked most of that sword."

"Most of it?"

"Most of it," he confirmed, then jerked his chin toward Hoseok, who sat across from us cutting up leaves.

"Hoseok gave you a salve for infection. It stopped the bleeding, too."

I thought of yesterday, when I'd noticed the quiet man grinding something into a mortar. "Thank you," I said to him.

He inclined his head toward me and resumed his work.

"My sister is fascinated by healing herbs," I said. "You'd be her hero."

His features sagged in amusement, color popping into his dark cheeks.

"You're a very dumb girl," Taehyung declared.

"I second that," Jieun said from her corner of the camp.

"You're welcome," I said.

Again, that almost-smile. So boyish. So endearing. Composed of a thousand things, the sorts of things people appreciated about the world.

Like child's-play and dessert and horizons and holidays and song and folktales and friendship and inventions and quiet evenings.

I must have taken a terrible blow to the head.

"I won't forget what you did," Taehyung murmured.

"Good."

Jimin chuckled, stretching his arms above his head. "I like her."

"What about the rest of you?" Taehyung asked, still staring at me.

Jieun and Jungkook crossed their arms and shrugged.

"A trial," Hoseok said, concentrating on the fragments of leaves that he dropped into a bowl on his lap.

"A trial basis," Taehyung echoed.

His expression caused a whirlpool of foreign sensations in my stomach.
I didn't care for them one bit.

"You touch a weapon without my say, or go anywhere without one of us, and I'll hang you in a net twenty feet off the ground."

All business. I was more comfortable with that. Still, I couldn't help teasing just to see what his reaction would be.

"Will you still feed me bread?" I asked.

His lips twitched. "Now tell us all about that shipment Seokjin's expecting."

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(a/n)
I wanted to keep writing this one, but i feel like this is a good cliff hanger lmao.
Anyway, hope u enjoyed reading this one, I'll update soon.
Thank u for the support too xx.