Night had fallen and the family had remained rooted to their seats watching over the kings breathing, doctor Jinki would make occasional visits to check on the king. Whilst the chefs would send food up to the family that would return hardly touched. 24 hours were nearing and the family solemnly stared at the bed, the king was indeed a fighter however there are fights that even the strongest of fighters couldn’t win. Dr Jinki entered the adobe and with one glance at the king he felt his heart slightly crack, making his way over he checked the kings heart rate and breathing only to turn towards the family and let them know of the news.

“I’m sorry we did all we could but the king has perished.” Dr Jinki informed and then with the remorse of being unable to do anything to save the highly renowned king Jinki walked out of the family’s adobe to give them privacy. The family were broken hearted as they wept over the kings corpse, his condition had been worsening however they expected him to push through and defeat the odds just like he had always taught them, just like he had always done.

A funeral was held on a sombre brisk summers day, the rain was pouring filling the silence with its pitter patter grieving along with all those that had arrived to the service. Kingdoms far and near had come to pay their respects to the departed king and the family who stood at the front staring blankly at the loss they had just incurred. The death affected all kingdoms as princess Jessica postponed her wedding and attended the funeral of a great leader who was not only seen as king by the other leaders but as friend. The kingdom grieved not just for losing a king but for losing a husband, a father, a friend, a reliable individual who would put their needs before his own, they mourned his presence.

The service had ended peacefully with the royal family receiving much support from everybody who attended a fact that the queen was greatly pleased of. She was now the ruler of this kingdom and she now deems it her sole purpose to find who had not only killed her husband but disrupted the peace signing of the 5 kingdoms.

Weeks had passed and the atmosphere within the kingdom and castle remained sombre the bad weather continued within the season of summer, nobody thought twice of the rain it was somehow soothing to them. Work continued on as usual within the kingdom as the queen was crowned the new ruler of the kingdom, she had worked tirelessly behind her husband’s desk seeing if she could find any information on the kingdom Vesalis. Suho trained harder than he ever had taking lessons from the royal knights, Yunho and Changmin were more than happy to help however due to the frustration that raged in Suho’s head he was making blind mistakes that he usually wouldn’t make. Irene and Yeri had found comfort in one another as they stayed with one another throughout the whole day, Yeri’s playful nature had subsided rendering the castle with a longing of the past, the times when the young girl would make all those that were surrounded in her presence smile with her playful personality.

Irene felt suffocated staying within the castle walls where every turn reminded her of the past, the queen had forbidden Yeri and Irene from leaving the castle as danger maybe lurking from any corner. However by this point Irene felt exasperated craving for a feel of fresh air, the sun had set and the moon had risen, all residents of the castle had fallen asleep by this point. Yeri had gone to sleep with her mother tonight giving Irene the perfect opportunity to sneak out. As a princess she only owned dresses which were now a great inconvenience for her so she searched for the most convenient dress, she found one which ended just above her ankles and was quite light throwing a shawl over her outfit. She made her way to the window and saw it was quite a jump not wanting to risk her life at this moment in time Irene opted to sneak through the hallways. With great discretion Irene manoeuvred her way through the hallways and out of the large oak doors, guards were patrolling the gates so Irene decided her best course of action for fresh air was to loiter in the gardens. Making her way there, no guards were seen patrolling the gardens so she decided to sit on a bench near the fountain.

 It felt good to feel the breeze as she looked up at the sky staring at the stars believing that the one which shone the brightest was her father looking down at her. Irene had no idea how long she had been outside simply staring at the stars until she heard a rustling in the hedge, curiosity gained the better of the princess so she decided to do her own little investigation so she walked towards the rustling. The rustling went further the closer she got, and then all of a sudden something or more specifically someone popped out of the hedges and started to run. Feeling a surge of bravery or adrenaline at this point Irene couldn’t distinguish, she decided to chase after this stranger who could potentially harm her, she didn’t call out for the guards her heart told her not to so she didn’t. The stranger looked back and smirked once they reached the wall that separated the castle from the kingdom, Irene stopped running and stood in front of the stranger. It was a female with long black hair and beautiful eyes, but they were red, red eyes Irene thought her own eyes nearly popping out of her eye sockets. However this didn’t stop the sense of familiarity rushing through Irene’s veins when she looked at the girl causing shivers to run down her spine.

“You’re part of Ves…”  The strange girl cut Irene off before she had completed her sentence.

“Shhh, you have nothing to fear of me.” And with that the girl disappeared in a poof of smoke, Irene stood there in disbelief. How could a person simply vanish in smoke? Magic, but magic isn’t real kingdoms searched for magic but never found it. Irene’ thoughts were cut short as she heard some guards talking, with a puzzled mind Irene made her way back to the castle sneaking past a few guards who were blocking her way.

Once she had entered the supposed safety of her room Irene fell on top her bed in a heap, the strange girls’ face constantly entering Irene’s mind whenever she closed her eyes. Those deep blood red eyes that held so much stared back at Irene, but for some reason Irene felt safe when the girl told her not to fear. Maybe it was the feeling of knowing her beforehand that cause Irene to feel as such with the girl, whatever it was, it was oddly satisfying to feel.

“Grrr.” Irene groaned grabbing the pillow and shoving her face in to it, why did I even decide to leave? I should have just stayed inside.