"What's this? You kids finally got laid?"

"NO!"

Noo-ri had no intention to act like a lady, but Tae-woo and Han-dae shoved him behind them and hissed at the dark-skinned general, not allowing him to get too close. It wasn't as if he was a damsel in distress. He could stab a general or two if he tried... probably.

"Lord Geun-tae, they may be children, but they are guests. Please refrain from your inappropriate innuendos."

"What, Chul, you're such a spoilsport."

The advisor of the Earth Tribe General was a man called Chul-rang. Unlike the general himself, he had a good head on his shoulders. He stood confidently and spoke properly, though he looked positively annoyed.

"In the first place, Lord Geun-tae, is that what you should be wearing to greet guests?!" Chul blew up, "dress properly when you're expecting guests!"

Lord Geun-tae pouted, looking away, "isn't it fine, it's just the kids anyway, it ain't as if the King was coming or something."

"As if you'd bother to dress properly if it was the king coming," Chul groaned.

Han-dae and Tae-woo gritted their teeth at Guen-tae-- Noo-ri wondered if there was a little more story to that reaction-- before turning back to Noo-ri.

"If he ever comes any nearer to you, you have Lord Mun-dok's permission to stab him," Tae-woo said, entirely serious.

"After he almost stole Lord Hak from us one time, Lord Mun-dok isn't letting his guard down anymore around him," Han-dae added, "don't worry, he won't die if you just stab him once."

(Noo-ri feared for the future of the Earth Tribe.)

-

As a maid of the Wind Tribe, Noo-ri hid scar on his face with a cloth mask over the entire side of his face, including his eye. It obstructed his vision, but he would be in safe grounds, so it was fine.

"You guys will want to see the weapons, right? Then we'll head there," Geun-tae offhandedly decided, "the Earth tribe honestly ain't doing so well this year, so we don't really have anything new to offer this time around that isn't traded..."

Noo-ri tagged along with Han-dae and Tae-woo as the Earth Tribe General brought them around the castle.

Then, he stopped.

The others kept walking, but he turned around-- there was an aroma in the air. A sweet, refreshing aroma, laced with the scent of flowers and peaches.

Noo-ri wandered toward the smell, and found himself before a garden of lush green.

His eyes (eye) sparkled with sheer interest-- because this, this, was definitely a tea plantation. It was definitely taken care of well. The earth was rich and the leaves were bright and healthy. Sunlight bounced off the frond, and dew, though faint, glittered like gems in the mid-morning.

"Who's there?"

He jolted.

The voice belonged to a young lady, and she had been crouched in the bushes, overseeing the overgrowth-- she stood up to address Noo-ri, and Noo-ri stepped back, quickly jutting into a bow.

"This is the palace gardens, and you don't seem to be an Earth Tribe maid," the woman surmised-- by her fragrant and luxurious clothing, Noo-ri wondered if she was a lady-in-waiting. She didn't look much older than he.

She was smiling, uncomfortably naive.

"You must be a guest, then!" she beamed, "Lord Geun-tae informed me that the Wind Tribe would be visiting, though I was not expecting a little lady. Are you interested in the tea plantations?"

Noo-ri felt himself shiver. What's with this girl's absolute innocence? She's so pure, Noo-ri actually wondered if she would be tainted if touched.

"That's right-- I'm Yun-ho!" the lady introduced herself, "may I know your name?"

Noo-ri's throat tightened, and his hands froze up. Yun-ho, that was the name of Geun-tae's wife. Right now, Noo-ri was talking to a lord's mistress.

(Sign language was considered vulgar and rude. In the past, Sang learned the hard way that you should never speak to royalty with it without permission.)

(He wasn't too sure about now. He only used it with Lord Mun-dok because Ayame said it was fine. What about the Earth Tribe? Surely they were different.)

"Why are you silent? Do you not have a name to give?" Yun-ho asked, genuinely curious.

Noo-ri swallowed nervously, failing to meet the lady in the eyes. He was in trouble. If he kept silent he would soon be considered an imbecile-- if he excused himself without answering, that would also be rude. What could he do now?

"Noo-ri!"

All heads turned to the intruding voice, and a blond figure raced from the palace walls and leaped into the gardens.

Han-dae cut into his field of vision, grabbing him by the shoulders in a panic, "where did you go? We told you to follow us carefully, didn't we?!"

Noo-ri held back a soundless squeak as Han-dae raised his voice, looking absolutely frantic and incredibly concerned.

Noo-ri looked away guiltily, but failed to provide an answer.

"Han-dae, you find him?" Tae-woo's voice came from afar.

"I found him! We're in the garden..." Han-dae hollered back-- but as he turned around, he squawked at the sight of Yun-ho. "Lady Yun-ho?!"

Immediately, Han-dae was bowing down low.

"We deeply apologize for disrupting the gardens, Lady Yun-ho!" he panicked, "I cannot believe my insolence-- ah, we're also sorry if Noo-ri has caused any sort of trouble!"

Now Noo-ri felt guilty, but honestly he was thankful. Now he wouldn't be seen as rude if he didn't respond.

(How did Sang deal with this again? Ah, right, he walked around with a sign that said "I am incapable of speech", those were the humiliating days...)

"Eh-? No, it's fine, she didn't--"

"What's wrong, Han-dae... oH My lord, Lady Yun-ho!" Tae-woo rushed over, saw the lady, and prompted tripped over his feet, stumbling onto his knees before he moved to bow lowly, "we deeply apologize for trespassing in your gardens!"

"Ah, you're Lord Mun-dok's protege!" Yun-ho said, brightly, "it's fine, Lord Mun-dok has done the same thing many times as well."

"I'm really sorry!" Tae-woo felt the desperate urge to say it again, for a slightly different reason.

Noo-ri hung around Han-dae's back, looking as guilty as a scolded puppy. Brushing aside his bangs and readjusting the position of the mask on his face-- ah, maybe he missed Yun-ho's figure because the cloth had obstructed his vision.

"So? What were you doing here, Noo-ri?" Tae-woo turned to the figure hiding behind Han-dae, "you're supposed to be my servant, so you shouldn't wander around."

Noo-ri quickly raised his hands, waving it in a dismissive gesture of 'no, I really didn't mean to,' but before he could sign anything else, Yun-ho made a sound.

A hum of sudden understanding, "could it be that you're mute?" she asked, inching closer to Noo-ri and taking his hands in hers, "so that's why you didn't answer me!"

Noo-ri made a soundless squawk as he tried to escape, but would escaping be rude? Han-dae and Tae-woo were giving him the most suspicious looks they could. Oh, this was definitely going to become the gossip of the night when they go home...

She was smiling brightly, and approaching so obviously. She was evidently excited to find a girl friend, sparkling with excitement, "so your name is Noo-ri? It's such a sweet name! Are you interested in the tea plantation?"

Han-dae and Tae-woo shared a look.

Noo-ri looked horribly flustered at the sunshine in front of him, but nodded at the right moments to respond. Yun-ho took him by the hand and led him around, showing him each section of the garden and telling him what grew where.

"That's right! Shall we brew some tea?"

Noo-ri's gaze evidently lit up at that, and Yun-ho didn't miss it.