Foggy conditions were in favor of Seunghyun’s group this morning as they gathered a few hundred meters away from the border between the south and north. He along with Jiyong and Kyurhee had been the first to arrive. Seunghyun had spent the days leading up to the mission selecting the best candidates. The commander of the Royal Army felt that all candidates needed to be some of the best in their class and specialties. Within each class there were different specs that each individual mastered in; Seunghyun himself was a protection warrior who stood in the front of a battle taking damage and dishing it out while warlocks like Jiyong benefited from this and focused on attacking.

The most important classes he needed in order to crossover safely were rogues and warlocks. Rogues could clear the path by disarming traps and taking out guards without being spotted, and the warlocks had a special ability that allowed them to summon an ally to wherever they were. Seunghyun had entrusted Jiyong with that duty, but Kyurhee would not be one of the first rogues to crossover.

Kyurhee had always been confident in her skills as a rogue but had been shocked when Seunghyun had told her that she would not be one of the first to crossover. The warrior had chosen that duty to two excellent subtlety rogues he had chosen. Kyurhee was currently leaning against the trunk of a tree as she and her two best friends waited for the others to arrive.

A group of four warriors and three shadow priests were the first to arrive followed by the warlocks. The rogues were the ones taking the longest and this was starting to make Kyurhee a bit impatient. She pulled the hood and mask off her face to breath in some fresh air, tightened her pony tail, and tucked the long bang that usually covered the right side of her face behind her ear. The rogue had been pacing back and forth and when she came to a stop and leaned against the tree once more she noticed four rogues standing in front of her.

Finally the rogues were here and they could start their mission. The rogues were currently facing Seunghyun and by their stature and shape Kyurhee could tell they were all male. The four of them removed their hoods and masks and turned to face everyone else. Even though Kyurhee was a rogue herself, she did not recognize any of these guys. Of course she didn’t spend her time hanging out at the temple with other rogues in their training grounds so she didn’t know many of them nowadays.

“Thank you for accepting this mission. Princess Jaehee will be pleased to hear of your loyalty and cooperation. As you all know, this mission is solely to find clues about his majesty’s whereabouts and if we are lucky enough, perhaps we can find him as well. We will be moving into treacherous territory that we are unfamiliar with, therefore; I ask that we all work and stick together.” Seunghyun addressed everyone. Everyone, except Kyurhee, saluted Seunghyun.

“Please know that Princess Kyurhee herself will be joining us in this mission.” Seunghyun motioned to where Kyurhee was and everyone bowed before her. This was information that had not been revealed to all the Shadows joining the mission and when they arrived they really had not noticed the Princess. Kyurhee felt a bit uneasy seeing all of them bow before her because she wasn’t used to this kind of formality from people.

“Even though she is an excellent rogue, I ask that everyone keep and eye out for her.” They saluted Seunghyun. He had not mentioned about starting the mission so everyone went ahead and greeted each other. It was important to know who your comrades were if you were going to be working together.

Kyurhee had been keeping her sights on a particular rogue. He seemed to be the leader of the other three and she found him to be very handsome. Jiyong stood next to her and leaned in to whisper, “He’s hot isn’t he?”

“He’s very handsome.” Kyurhee replied and Jiyong grinned.

“His name is Jung Yonghwa and luckily for you he’s straight because if he wasn’t and I was single, girl you know I would have been all over him.” Jiyong playfully tapped her shoulder and moved away when he noticed Yonghwa walking towards Kyurhee.

Yonghwa had noticed Kyurhee when he and his friends first arrived and was struck by her beauty. He did not know she was one of the Princesses until Seunghyun had mentioned that she was. Kyurhee was always the elusive one of the two and many of the recent trainees had never met her. Yonghwa and his friends had only been training for two years but had quickly mastered their skills in that short amount of time.

“Princess, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Jung Yonghwa.” He bowed before her.

“You don’t have to be so formal with me so don’t call me Princess. Kyurhee is just fine.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake and even though he hesitated at first he did move his hand to shake hers. Behind him, the other three rogues introduced themselves to Kyurhee.

The tallest of the rogues was named Lee Jungshin, next to him was Kang Minhyuk who was not kin to Kyurhee, and next to him was Lee Jonghyun. All four rogues gave Kyurhee a smile and Yonghwa informed her that the four of them had been best friends since childhood. The tight knit between the four rogues meant that they all worked together in sync when it came to fighting enemies and that was a plus.

After all the introductions were finished, Seunghyun gathered everyone to discuss the plan he had come up with. Yonghwa and Jonghyun were the two subtlety rogues that would first take out all the guards in the two nearest towers. They were also in charge of taking out any guards wondering around the fence. Using rubber boots and gloves would allow the two of them to climb the electrical fence.

Once inside the land diving both sides of the fences; the two rogues would begin disarming any land mines laid through out the land in between both fences. A climb over the fence on the north side would bring Yonghwa and Jonghyun to take out the guards on that side. After completing that task, they would signal for the next group to crossover.





Jiyeon had spent the previous night in a very depressed state. She had vowed to herself not to give up on Eunjung, but she could not help to feel heartbroken over being rejected. Jiyeon had practically dragged herself out of bed into the shower and then into the kitchen so she could eat breakfast. School was the last thing in her mind as she moved her cereal around the bowl with her spoon.

Jiyeon’s mother had noticed her daughter’s melancholy state since the night before but had left the young girl alone. Hopefully a good night’s rest would have made her daughter feel better but this morning Jiyeon was still looking depressed. The older woman was worried about what had happened with her daughter that had her in this state. Jiyeon had gone out with Eunjung yesterday and her mother was sure the older girl had something to do with Jiyeon’s sadness.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” The older woman asked as she took a seat next to her daughter and placed her hand on Jiyeon’s right arm.

Jiyeon stopped moving the spoon and looked up at her mom before turning her sight back onto the bowl of cereal. “Nothing’s wrong mom. I’m fine.”

“Jiyeon don’t lie to me. I know something has you down. Does it have to do with Eunjung? Did something happen between the two of you yesterday?” Her mother questioned.

Jiyeon sighed and nodded. She looked up at her mother again, “Have you ever been heart broken?”

Jiyeon’s mother moved her hand to cup her daughter’s face. The older woman had a sympathetic look on her face and hugged Jiyeon who started crying in her mother’s arms. “Oh honey, did Eunjung break up with you? Let it all out okay?”

Jiyeon pulled away from her mother’s embrace and wiped the tears off her face and sniffled. “We were not a couple mom.”

“Oh?”

“I…I kissed her…”

“Omo!”

“But she turned me down. She said we can’t be together!” Another round of tears came flowing down Jiyeon’s face. The older woman embraced her daughter and rubbed her back.

“Why would she say that? Is it because the two of you are girls? But I thought she liked you?” The older woman was shocked that Eunjung would turn her daughter down. Even though she had not liked the entire ordeal at first, Eunjung had left a good impression on her and Jiyeon’s mom was sure that Eunjung had no fear of being who she was.

Jiyeon did not want to lie to her mother but she couldn’t exactly explain the truth behind it to her mother without the older woman thinking she was crazy. It was better if she just went with what her mother suspected and so Jiyeon nodded while still being embraced by her mother.

“It’s because we’re both girls. She said she didn’t want me to bring shame upon you and dad because I was dating a girl.” Jiyeon pulled away from her mother and wiped her tears once more.

“Jiyeon, your father and I love you regardless and we don’t care what other people think. Your happiness is what matters to us. Do you still want to be with Eunjung?” Her mother asked and Jiyeon nodded. “Don’t give up on her okay? Fight for your happiness Jiyeon. Show, convince, tell Eunjung how you feel and let her know that we accept her as your girlfriend. She would be very stupid to let you go.”

“Mom!” Jiyeon shouted.

“It’s the truth! How dare she not accept to be with you? She’s stupid!” Her mother words finally brought a smile and giggle to Jiyeon. The older woman smiled as well and felt relieved that Jiyeon seemed a bit livelier now.

“Thanks mom. I feel a little better now.” Jiyeon said and gave her mother a smile.

‘Good. Now hurry up and finish your cereal so you can get going. I don’t want you to be late.” Her mom told her and got up from her seat to go get a cup of coffee.

Jiyeon nodded and turned to her cereal to finish eating it. Her mother’s words of encouragement had lifted Jiyeon’s spirit and helped her determination to not give up on Eunjung. After taking her last bite, Jiyeon heard her phone go off to the ring tone she had set for Eunjung. She reached for the phone that was inside her backpack and noticed she had one text message from the older girl.

I’m parked outside. Will you allow me to take you to school?

A faint smile crept up Jiyeon’s lips. The way Eunjung had worded her message told Jiyeon that Eunjung knew that she was upset by what happened the previous day and felt bad about it. It was as if Eunjung was asking for permission to do anything for Jiyeon and this gave the younger girl a boost of self confidence in knowing that Eunjung was at her mercy.

“Mom, I’m heading out now. I’ll see you later.” Jiyeon grabbed her backpack and waved goodbye to her mother as she made her way out the door.





Eunjung had not forgotten everything that happened between Jiyeon and herself but all the romantic feelings she had developed for the younger girl had practically vanished. God had strengthened the restraints on her body and she knew that Jiyeon presence and touch would not affect her in that way again. It was for the best because being in love with Jiyeon could have cost more problems than helped. Her duty was to protect the young girl at all costs, even if those costs were herself and her feelings.

While waiting for Jiyeon to make it downstairs, Eunjung hoped that Jiyeon would accept her offer to take her to school. She knew Jiyeon was currently upset with her and she also knew that Jiyeon had not left the building. Her Guardians had been monitoring the area all morning. Eunjung turned to look at the doors of the apartment building and was glad to see Jiyeon walking towards her.

“I’m only accepting your offer because I don’t want to be late.” Jiyeon said as she approached Eunjung.

Eunjung nodded and handed Jiyeon her helmet. “I understand.”

That’s all you have to say? You really are stupid Ham Eunjung! Jiyeon took her seat behind Eunjung and wrapped her arms around the older girl’s waist. She was mad that Eunjung didn’t even bother to acknowledge anything that happened between them.

Eunjung could feel Jiyeon’s nails digging into the skin of her midsection but didn’t say anything. She started up her motorcycle and headed for the university.





Seunghyun’s first phase of his plan had been successful. The lit up flare on the north side let him know that Yonghwa and Jonghyun had successfully taken out all the guards and disarmed any land mines. The commander smiled and turned to face everyone standing behind him. “Yonghwa and Jonghyun have successfully cleared a path for us. Jongkook, if you would do the honors please.”

Jongkook was the only arms warrior Seunghyun had selected to join them on this mission. Jongkook was a big guy, not only in height but also in weight due to how muscular he was. He represented the ideal arms warrior with his stature and massive two handed sword. Jongkook walked up to the fence and drew his sword from his back. With two powerful swings, he cut down the fence allowing enough room for someone to walk through.

“Minhyuk, please go ahead of Jiyong and Jongkook to ensure that there are no active land mines. Once the three of you are on the other side, Jiyong will summon the rest of the warlocks. Even though we can all walk over to the north, it is safer to just summon those of us who remain here in the south.” Seunghyun explained and the three of them saluted.

Minhyuk went into stealth mode and started walking towards the north. In his stealth form he could clearly see where the landmines were and he could tell which ones had been disarmed by his friends. The slight parting of the grass allowed Jiyong and Jongkook to know where exactly Minhyuk was walking and they carefully followed the rogue’s steps. Minhyuk made sure to lead the warlock and warrior through the safest way and once they made it to the fence on the north, the rogue came out of his stealth mode and waited with Jiyong while Jongkook cut the fence down.

The three of them met up with Yonghwa and Jonghyun and Jiyong asked for their assistance in summoning the warlocks over to their side. The fog was starting to clear by now but with all the nearest guards out cold at the moment, they were safe. It didn’t take long for Jiyong to summon all three warlocks to the north and from there; those warlocks began to summon the rest of the group. In a matter of minutes, everyone was standing in North Korea.

“What now?” Kyurhee asked Seunghyun as she looked at the unfamiliar land in front of her.

“We move inland. We need to find tracks that belong to the King’s men.” Seunghyun responded. Everyone nodded and the group began making their way into North Korea.





Jaehee’s morning so far had been going well. Her sister and two best friends had left early to go on their mission to find clues about the King’s whereabouts, and the day before, she and Kyurhee had managed to convince Tablo to help train the Guardians. If Eunjung accepted, then she could bring Tablo over to the Guardians later today.

Jaehee listened to the last bit of the song playing in her cars stereo before turning it off and stepping out of the red Mustang. She placed her backpack around her shoulders and began walking towards the school. The loud engine of a vehicle caused her to turn and look back towards the parking lot. A black Corvette had parked a few spots down from her own car. Normally, Jaehee would have just turned back around and continued towards the school but the dark magic coming from the Corvette intrigued her.

It wasn’t very strong but it stood more than any Shadow she had felt in the school. In the short time that she had been attending the university, she had discovered a number of Shadows studying there but all of them were civilians who had not developed their powers in any way. This particular Shadow though had undergone some training, so Jaehee waited for whoever was inside the car to step out of it.

A short guy with a Mohawk opened the door on the driver’s side and stepped out of it. He walked around to open the passenger side door but whoever was in the passenger seat was not the one Jaehee had sensed. The Shadow was clearly the guy driving the car, so when he opened the door and Jieun stepped out, Jaehee was in complete shock. She stood in her spot, staring wide eyed at the two of them as they interacted with each other.

Jaehee remembered hearing at the club on Saturday that Jieun had met someone but she did know who it was until now. The younger girl was currently smiling happily at the guy while he told her something and then he pulled her into a hug. Though he seemed friendly enough towards Jieun, Jaehee did not trust this guy and it mostly had to do with the dark magic she could feel coming from him.

The older woman started walking towards the flirting couple and interrupted their conversation. “Good morning Jieun.” She waved at the younger girl as she approached the two of them.

Jieun stopped mid conversation and looked over at Jaehee who was walking towards her and Taeyang. “Good morning unni.”

Jaehee wrapped an arm around Jieun and pulled her close while she stared at Taeyang who seemed to gulp at the sight of Jaehee. He was very well aware of who she was because he regularly attended service at the temple. Jieun pulled away from Jaehee’s stare and moved closer to Taeyang.

“Taeyang, this is my friend Jaehee. Jaehee, this is Taeyang. We met at the club on Saturday.” Jieun smiled excitedly as she introduced the two Shadows to each other. Taeyang bowed at Jaehee and she did the same.

“Nice to meet you Taeyang.” Jaehee commented.

“You too Jaehee.” Taeyang replied and turned to Jieun, “Well, Jieun, I should get going. You have to get to your class and I need to head to work. I’ll pick you up after school.”

“Yes, I’ll wait for you right here. Have a good day!” Jieun gave him a hug and he waved at Jaehee while heading towards the driver’s side of his car. The two women watched Taeyang pull out and drive off.

“What do you think of him unni? He’s so cool, handsome, friendly, and charming. I really like him.” Jieun’s face brightened just thinking of Taeyang. The young girl seemed to have quickly fallen for the guy but Jaehee wasn’t too trusting of him yet. She needed to get to know him first and find out what kind of training he had received.

Just because Taeyang was a Shadow did not mean Jaehee had to trust him. As of late it had become difficult to really trust anyone within the community of Shadows especially if they were not civilians. Jaehee was certain that Taeyang was not classified as a civilian due to the training he had received. Jaehee would have to remind herself to run a background check on the guy.

“I don’t know him well enough to judge him yet.” Jaehee replied to Jieun’s question.

“Well I think once you get to know him you will like him.” Jieun commented.

“Perhaps, but just be careful okay? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” Jaehee said.

“I’ll be fine unni. I’m a big girl you know.” Jieun giggled and started walking towards the school. Jaehee shook her head and followed behind Jieun. The two of them headed to their usual spot to wait for Eunjung and Jiyeon. While waiting, Jieun started talking about how much fun she had on Saturday and how it would be cool do something like that again.

They were soon approached by Gyuri who greeted both of them and Jieun was in such a good mood that for once she was very friendly towards Gyuri. This shocked the older girl who expected Jieun to still be apprehensive around her. Jaehee on the other hand was happy to see both of them acting civil and friendly towards each other.

“By the way, who was that guy you met at the club on Saturday? He’s cute.” Gyuri asked Jieun which made the younger girl grin.

“I know! He’s so cool too! I really like him. We’ve been talking ever since and he even picked me up this morning and brought me to school.” Jieun said while rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

“You guys are moving fast I see. I wish a certain someone would do that.” Gyuri mentioned and both she and Jieun eyed Jaehee who stared at them.

“Rude. I’m right here you know.” Jaehee replied.

“Just saying.” Gyuri said and she and Jieun laughed much to Jaehee’s annoyance. Thankfully for the taller woman, Jiyeon and Eunjung arrived at that moment. Jiyeon greeted them and Eunjung simply nodded when the girls greeted her.

The five of them started making their way into the school after greeting each other. Class was going to start soon, but Jaehee managed to pull Eunjung away before she entered her class. The two of them watched a few students walk into the classroom and once the hallways seemed empty Jaehee mentioned to Eunjung what they had talked about Saturday night.

“Kyurhee and I managed to convince Tablo to train your Guardians. He’s an excellent rogue and trainer. He trained my sister and my family had known him for a long time and I know he’s someone that can be trusted. The decision is yours to make though; I don’t want to pressure you into accepting our help. I know that even though were civil with each other, you probably still don’t trust me completely.” Jaehee explained and waited patiently for Eunjung’s answer.

Eunjung remained silent for a few seconds but finally replied, “I think the rest of the Guardians might be uneasy about him being in our ranks. Even the rogues he’s supposed to be training, but I do realize that our rogues cannot master their abilities being taught by Hyomin.”

“So…is that a yes?”

“Yes. I will allow him to enter our ranks as a rogue trainer, but I have one condition.”

“What is it?”

“If I find out that he has ulterior motives, then I will kill him.”

Jaehee nodded. “I understand and accept your condition.”

Eunjung and Jaehee shook hands in agreement. “I will tell you how to get to our headquarters later today. Bring him over today if you can, if not let me know. You have my number now.” Eunjung added.

“I do. Thank you Eunjung.” Jaehee smiled at the Guardian and turned around to head to her class. Eunjung gave the Shadow a slight nod and turned to walk inside the classroom.





Park Jinyoung had spent a lot of time with Kim Kwangsoo discussing their next plan of attack. Jinyoung had wanted to return to Seoul to visit with Jaehee but Kwangsoo had assured him that there was no point in talking to the Princess to offer assistance anymore. If Jaehee wanted Jinyoung’s assistance with anything, she would have contacted him already. Kwangsoo also knew of Jinyoung’s interest in Kyurhee and knew of how the Death Knight had been trying to court the older of the two Princesses.

If the sister were still as close as Kwangsoo remembered, then it would be of no surprise to him that Kyurhee might have confided in her younger sister. He knew that neither Jinyoung nor he were trusted by the two Princesses and the Queen. Kwangsoo had ordered Jinyoung to create more groups of Shadows to attack the Guardians. They needed to increase their presence and eliminate as many Guardians as they could.

Jinyoung was also in charge of amassing an army for Kwangsoo. Everyone who had joined their side, and was not in a currently not infiltrated into the Royal Army, had to report to where Kwangsoo had made his home base. The Shadows on his side to needed to start training for the war he was preparing to start.

Jinyoung was currently looking at a map of North Korea. He knew that soon a group of Shadows sent by Jaehee would crossover into the country in order to find clues about where the King’s men came from. He had already gotten rid of any tracks left behind and his plan for the group was to lead them further into the country so that in the end he could trap them and bring them to their current location. Good news came in the form a phone call.

“Sir, I’ve just learned that earlier this morning Seunghyun began leading a group of Shadows into the North. With them is Princess Kyurhee.”

Jinyoung smiled at the mention of Kyurhee. “Excellent. They’re making our plans even easier. Thank you.”

“Anytime sir.”

The nobleman got up from his seat and pointed with his index finger at the location where he had erased the tracks. Somewhere in this vicinity was Kyurhee and those that had come along with her. He grinned and walked out of the room. Prepare yourself Kyurhee. It’s time we play a little game of cat and mouse.