The Other Side of the Mask

I get in position to defend, but a flash blocks my sight.

It was a knight. He wore plain armor. What's a knight doing here though?

"Are you okay?" he asks, not even turning around.

"Y-yeah, who are you?"

He smiles, "Your hero!"

Ugh! A narcissist? I waited for him to clear out the bandits which ran away in seconds.

He turns around.

"Thank you," I say, gratefully.

His face shows a surprised expression for some reason.

"A-are you ok?"I ask, weirded out by his facial expression.

"Where are you from?" he asks.

"Uh, Yue Kingdom?"

This is really weird… He grabs my hand and heads towards the gate into the capital.

"A-ah! What are you doing?"

"Hold on, this is urgent. What's your name, girl?"

I calm down. I can finally use my new name!

"YingYue," I respond happily.

He looks at me suspiciously.

"What?"

"YingYue," I repeat.

He grabs my hand tightly and pulls me to the gate into the capital.

We arrive at the gate and the guard lets us in right after seeing the knight's face.

The knight pulls me into the city, not letting go of my wrist. I gasp in astonishment by the beauty of the capital. It was filled with people dressed in many colors. The roads are clean and lead to one building in the center: the Palace.

He grips my hand all the way to the palace.

"Welcome back to the palace, Commander Yang."

He's a commander at such a young age? Wow… talk about achieving.

He nods his head in respect as the maids literally fangirl. He pulls me into the palace and talks to the butler.

"Please grant us an audience with the Royal Family."

"Of course, his majesty and her highness will be delighted to see you've returned… with a girl?" the butler questions.

"Oh," he thinks, "I see…"

"No, it's not what you think," Commander Yang says annoyed.

As for me, I honestly couldn't tell what they meant, not that I cared. All I wanted was this guy to ...LET GO! It actually hurts… I kick his back from behind, and he falls… but he doesn't let go! He drags me down too and I fall too.

"Ugh…" I touch the top of my head, hoping to not develop a headache.

"Geez what was that?" he asks me.

"Let go of my hand," I demand for the last time.

Finally, he releases my poor hand and I massage it. The butler gestures us down the hall.

"Why am I in the palace… and why are we meeting the Royal Family?" I ask, tired of this hectic business.

The Commander doesn't answer and only pulls me along.

Finally, he speaks, "Have you seen the posters around in this kingdom?"

"It is the picture of the lost princess and what she would look like if she's still alive."

"So?"

"Her name is YingYue and the kidnapper was killed near the Yue Kingdom border."