There was a knock on Jaejoong’s door and after spreading his senses, confusion settled in. What was Yuri doing at his door? He’s the last one to complain, but she never seeks him out unless there’s a problem. “Come in.” He calls out softly, knowing full well she’ll hear.

Light footsteps echoed through his room, and he knows something’s up. All the guards are silent in their walk, she’s deliberately making noise. She’s approaching him, in a way that ensured he did not see her as a threat or up to something.

He turned towards her and had to take a second to take her in. It has been a long time since he had seen her in this type of getup. Kwon Yuri simply did not dress up for anyone unless required, and who would dare request her to do something like this against her will, in their right mind.

“Yuri?” He breathed out. She smirked, “I guess this works then.” She said, looking down at her outfit. It was nothing much compared to the outfits that circulated these halls, but it also was not something one is used to seeing her in. The black sheer blouse showed the black lace tank underneath and was tucked into a tight pencil skirt with a high slit on both sides. She was wearing a pair of black high heels, and he briefly wondered if one could even fight, even less walk, in those. Her lips were painted blood red and her eyes were done smoky.

Her remark took him out of his stupor and sobered him up. “Are you sure Yuri?” He asked again, for the thousand times since he found out she was going through with his sister’s stupid plan, without her knowledge. “I would not be standing here if I was not my prince.”

“You have to be careful. Father is aware of what you are doing, but he cannot cover for you if you are caught.” Jaejoong looked in her eyes and saw nothing but determination. He sighed, and debated confessing his feelings for her now and then, as a last effort. But what good would that do? Siwon informed him of her lover, and what Sooyoung told him. She was not his to take, and she never had been. And even if she had been, he had his own goals tonight.

“The Jung and the Yoo are arriving shortly. The King has requested that we all dress up for tonight’s supper, even the guards.” The King had invited the Yoo, another royal clan allied to the Kim, to join the supper. The Yoo were a peaceful clan, and their territory did not run far or wide. But they were intellectuals, and their lands are the closest of the Kim than anyone else. It made sense for them to ally with them, as it would be much too easy for them to take over. They exchanged their wits and strategy at times of war, in return for protection.

This was to extend the clan a token of appreciation in this truce, as they have been a big part of the war themselves.

“Thank you for the heads up, Yuri. And thank you, for what you are doing.” Jaejoong said sincerely, holding on the crook of the elbow gently. “I pledged my life to Taeyeon when your family took me in Jaejoong. My family and I owe yours more than you can imagine.” He looked at her unwavering determination once more, and let go. It was not his place to say anything else.

The Jung siblings and their parents walked in the formal sitting room and immediately saw that another family was waiting for the Kim already, it was easy to recognize them, the Yoo were infamous for their wits, and their role against them in this war. The patriarchal figure looked up at them and gave them a polite nod, before turning back to his son, who seemed to be glaring at Yunho already. He briefly wondered if he had killed anyone in the family, during the war.

They haven’t sat down for very long before the doors opened wide again and the sound echoed through the hall. The Kim family and their entourage had just walked in, looking every bit as regal and reserved as usual. Except this time, Yunho thought to himself, something was different. Something had changed in the guards’, the maids, and the men’s stances. And he couldn’t quite tell what it was.

The guards hung back as always, but when the main bodyguards finally made it into his sight, he could hear most of the males in the rooms’ jaws drop. He had known this was going to be a formal affair, but did not expect this. Kwon Yuri, Choi Sooyoung, Im Yoona and Seo Joohyun were not in their usual clothes, no tonight, they looked as regal as their charges.

“Welcome to our domain!” The king called out, waking them from their distracted minds. “I asked our guards and ladies in waiting to stay in the room with us through supper, and you are more than welcomed to do so as well. As we are getting closer to the wedding, I feel like we should get to know each other better, and Yuri, Sooyoung, Seohyun and Yoona are as much part of our family as we are.”

No one objected. Yunho could not keep his eyes off of Yuri. She was breathtaking. Her hair had been parted to one side, and he could see her slender neck, exposed to the world. But Yoochun broke him out of his holding stare, and pointed to one of the Yoo guards, whispering something in his ear.

Jessica admired the six women that just walked in and glided through the room to talk to the princesses, Krystal and their usual company by her side. “Ladies,” she greeted, “you look great!” They looked at her, slightly surprised at her openness, but smiled softly back. “Thank you Princess,” Taeyeon replied, as her guards and ladies in waiting simply nodded their gratitude back. “You are all looking quite beautiful as well.” She complimented back. The guards had softly excused themselves, joining the guards of the Yoo family. The princesses all made small talk, but Tiffany and Amber had also joined Yuri and Sooyoung at the sidelines. They were not much for frugalities, and the polite talk between the four held no appeal to them.

They could see that the two elder princesses were genuinely making the effort, but the younger ones could have cared less about what was happening. A mutual understanding passed between the four guards, and they would most likely be keeping each other company tonight.

“Yuri-ah,” Sooyoung started,” Jihoon is staring.” Tiffany and Amber turned to the man Sooyoung was pointing at and saw a very good looking guard, staring at them. 

“And?” Yuri asked, nodding to him politely before turning back to their conversation. “Well aren’t you going to talk to him?” “Sooyoung-ah! There is nothing to talk about.” She had broken things off with him earlier this week and had not explained why. She did not expect seeing him here tonight, she had forgotten that he was standing in for the Yoo prince’s usual guard, whose wife was expecting.

Tiffany and Amber said nothing, petty romances were not allowed in their kingdom and they had no need to know about the Kim’s. Instead, they focused their attention on their charges, keeping watch from afar.

It was not long before everyone moved to the main dining room and were sat down for dinner. All the guards and the maids were sitting together and the royal families stayed at the top of the table. The two kings were loudly boasting about the prowess of their children while the Yoo king would occasionally slip a few words in about his own.

The said offspring were also socializing, albeit there was undeniable tension between the three princes.  The conversations were filled with polite wit and sharp jabs about each of their prowess. The Yoo prince, a young man named Jiyoung, barely out of his 200’s, kept to himself more but kept looking around for his guard, as if always on high alert. Though young, the blonde prince was always highly attentive, and could sense ill intent. The lack of ill intent in the room put him in higher alert than usual, he did not find this a normal scenario with these families. He could sense something brewing in the background, and it had him on edge.

Jaejoong looked at Jiyoung from the corner of his eyes. He knew what he was thinking, it wasn’t hard. The young prince was probably uncomfortable with all the tension at the table, and knowing that he could feel the storm brewing, he pitied the young man. He was not adept in the battle field, his ability crippled him more than helped when he was unfocused, and he was an easily distracted young man. His usual guard, Seungyeon, is able to calm him with his own ability, but was unavailable tonight.

The prince glanced over to the next prince, back rigid, and glancing around occasionally. His gaze landed on Taeyeon a few times, but would gravitate to her guard mostly. Jaejoong mentally nodded, at least the plan is working.

“So Yunho-ssi, what do you think of our guards?” Jaejoong asked, seeing as his gaze had once again floated over to the guards’ table. “You seem to be looking at them quite a bit.” A slow grin on his face, and half reclined on his chair, the Kim prince was the picture of arrogance and mischief. The Jung heir cut him a sharp look but then smiled. “You have some quite interesting members of the guard. I look forward to seeing more of them in the coming time.”

“Ah yes, our Taeyeon is going to live with you for a few weeks.” Jaejoong recalled, “Guard Kwon Yuri will follow of course, maybe you’ll figure out what is so interesting with her then.”  Yunho smirked, “Be careful Jaejoong-ssi, I might like what I see, and the Kim will be one guard short.”

“Kwon Yuri is loyal to the Kim, Yunho-ssi, do not forget that.” Jaejoong looked over to Jiyoung, who stayed quiet through this conversation, “And unless she finds her mate, she’ll remain a Kim for as long as we can keep her.”

“Keep her?”

“You do not honestly believe women like Kwon Yuri and Choi Sooyoung can be tamed? Should they want to leave, nothing will stop them. But they are loyal, smart, beautiful and powerful. There are no better combination in the ideal mate, no?”

“I believe your sister is as smart and as beautiful”

“Oh, do not underestimate her, she is as powerful as her guards.”

“Why saddle some of your best warriors with charges then?”

“You seem to believe we are short of strong warriors. Understand that even in a time of peace, we do not weaken. We stay strong, and solid. That is the Kim way. And understand this, we always get what we want.” Jaejoong promised, before waiving the wine pourer over.

“They seem to be in the middle of an intense discussion over there.” Jessica pointed out to the other princesses at the table, looking over at the princes’ table.

“They’re men, Sica unnie, they’re probably just one upping each other” Krystal said, looking down at her freshly manicured nails. Hyoyeon looked over at the younger girl, and shook her head lightly. She turned to her sister, with a questioning glance. The eldest princess at the table shook her head and waved over the plate of beef. She had to stay at dinner, and is not allowed to escape to the library because she found their guests annoying.

Hyoyeon pouted lightly, but nodded after. She glanced around once more, and smirked slightly. The Jung prince was looking over at Yuri again, who only shifted slightly, sensing the multiple glances on her. Sooyoung might be against her plan, but she might not even have to intervene. Yuri was doing it right all on her own.

“I believe they might be discussing battle tactics.” Taeyeon suggested with a soft smile, “That is our oppa’s favorite conversation topic after all. Jessica tilted her head slightly, and looked back at the table with the men. This Jaejoong prince was quite a mystery. Her eyes widened and she quickly turned back around. The prince had caught her staring and smirked in her direction.

‘A man should not be allowed to be this attractive!’ She thought to herself, feeling her cheeks redden. The princess also caught Taeyeon’s slightly inquisitive look and looked down. ‘oh this was not the time for this.’

‘Are you ok unnie?” Krystal asked, seeing her sister’s weird actions, “You are acting odd.”

“It’s nothing Krystal!”

Jaejoong smirked, both at Yunho’s deep frown at this words and actions, and at the princess’ cute reactions. “No matter though, we will soon be brothers Yunho-ssi, no?” The arrogant tone of the man caught both Yunho’s and Jiyoung’s attention but only the former rose to the bait.

“Of course, when the treaty is signed and all, we will be one big family.”

The three princes’ attention suddenly changed course, as the whole guards’ table was on sudden alert. The four guards had already reached their princess’ sides and as did Jihoon, Jiyoung’s guard. The four women circled, back to their charges. The kings was also surrounded by the guards. Jaejoong and Yunho quickly stood up, and went to meet their sisters.

“What is happening Yuri, Sooyoung?” Jaejoong asked, not having sensed anything from where he was. The two women looked at him and shook their heads and pointed up. He spotted vampires getting to their posts, but none of these were Kim vampires and a quick look towards the Jung proved that they weren’t their either. The quick movement of the guards had alerted the intruders but for some reason, they had not attacked.

“What do we do?” He heard guard Tiffany ask her prince. “A full frontal attack is bold, especially with all of us in the room.”

“They must have someone with powers.” Amber retorted, “They would not dare otherwise.”

“How did they even get in here,” Hyoyeon wondered “This place is locked up tight.” The two Kim princess were already clutching their weapons, that Sooyoung had shadow walked for them. Yuri and she both stood guard, anticipating their moves. If they attacked first, they were running in blind. They all knew that.

Yuri and Sooyoung nodded at each other before the taller of the two dematerialized. Jaejoong quickly moved to take her place, covering Hyoyeon just in case. Sooyoung was going to do some recon. They could spot that the intruders were tensing up, probably from the disappearance of the woman. Yuri was antsy, she could not evacuate the room, not knowing who or what was on the other side. Her partner could only be in one place at the time and there were too many people not to be considered obstacles. What to do? Who could help?

Her gaze landed on the Jung prince, what was his talent again? Physical projection!

“Prince Yunho!” Yuri whispered called, and the brown haired prince looked over, wondering what the warrior wanted at this time. “Would you be able to see what is happening up there without them knowing?”

Jaejoong nodded, agreeing with Yuri’s plan. “Sooyoung can only be at one place at the time, another pair of eyes up there would be useful. She’ll be able to manipulate the shadows to cloak you as well. Good thinking Yuri!” The foreign prince nodded and within a few seconds, another Yunho was up in the rafters, unseen by the enemies. The two then looked over at Hyoyeon, whose mind was already running.

She looked at Yuri, Jaejoong and Taeyeon and nodded. “Yuri, you need to stay down here and protect the princesses Jessica and Krystal with their guards. Unnie, you and I need to stay on the ground too. I don’t know who they are but we can’t risk exposing ourselves.” Tiffany and Amber looked like they were about to protest, but to refuse the aid of the Kim would be frowned upon. At the same time, had Hyoyeon not protected their princesses too, that would have been a problem. Both knew it was not a slight to their ability.

“Oppa, please join the guards and see what is happening.” Hyoyeon dared not direct the prince Yunho around. The princesses need protecting, the prince warrior did not. At the same time, Yunho called out, “They’re coming!”

The guards quickly sprang into action, their weapons quickly appearing at their sides. Many of the enemies disappeared into the shadows, not to be seen again. Yuri and Tiffany had joined the fray already, cutting down as many intruders as possible. The former tried to turn away as many as possible, infiltrating their minds. Amber was not far behind, her speed allowing her to reach them before they touched her.  

Yoona had already created a shield around the princesses, the royal families and the ones who would have a harder time defending themselves, which included Prince Jiyoung, whose senses were overwhelmed by the sudden influx of ill intent. Jaejoong and Yunho had both joined the fight already. The princes were fighting back to back, having been trapped in a circle of many opponents.

The main hall was in chaos, and as more intruders seems to drop in from the ceiling, more royal guards filed into the room, filing it to capacity. Hyoyeon looked around, this is no good; they were running out of space and were going to be outnumbered soon. They had to find a way to bring this outside the castle.

She reached into the shadow, where she hoped Sooyoung to notice or pass by. Luckily, the tall vampire appeared at the exact same time. “Grab Yuri, and grab an intruder. Bring them out, they won’t last against her one on one. Bring this fight outside before they overrun us!” Sooyoung agreed silently, and suddenly all noticed Yuri’s disappearance, and one by one, the intruders disappeared too.

The fighters all took advantage of the surprise element and worked harder to cut down as many as they could. The intruders quickly caught on and tried to stay in the lighted areas but were constantly pushed back into the shadow. Taeyeon stood behind the shield and had her eyes closed. She concentrated on throwing random men into the shadows, where Sooyoung was carting them off to Yuri to be disposed of.

Tiffany was suddenly yanked backwards and disappeared down what seemed to be a tunnel of darkness. The light appeared and Yuri stood there, bloody sword in hand. She nodded to the shorter woman and just said with a smirk on her face, “Get prepared, she’s coming with more target practices!” Tiffany whirled around, double daggers in hand just as Sooyoung threw two more men at them. They stumbled and quickly looked to retreat when they spotted the fallen bodies of their comrades. Tiffany and Yuri were quicker and disposed of them in a few of their blades. The two women nodded in respect of the other’s skills and got into a fighting stance, preparing themselves for the latest batch.

In the room, Yunho and Jaejoong were quickly being outnumbered. The men looked around them, and Yunho projected another one of himself to distract the assailants as he cut them down when distracted. Jaejoong tried to throw off as many as he could with his mind control, and waved over Siwon and Junsu.

Both men had run into the main hall when the alarm sounded and had joined the fray immediately. “I need your help. Siwon, go help Sooyoung bring them out to Yuri and the Jung guard, Junsu, help the girls protect my parents, Hyoyeon’s plan left them the most exposed. Yoona looks like she’ll waver soon from the amount of energy she is using.”

Yoona was slightly swaying on her feet, and Seohyun quickly grabbed onto the other maid. Hyoyeon quickly approached the two maids and helped the younger one hold onto Yoona. The princess had another lesser known power. She was capable of absorbing and releasing energy into the vessel she wanted. Quickly she grabbed onto the closest assailant, going through the shield and bringing him within the safe zone. Krystal yelled out in surprise at the movement but Jessica quickly shushed her when no one else reacted. She figured that something was about to happen.

They both watched, in morbid fascination, as the big muscular man seemed to lose all strength or capabilities and just sunk to the ground unconscious underneath the touch of the youngest Kim, all that showed was the tortured look on his face. Neither noticed Yoona’s suddenly warming colouring, taller posture or the reinforced shield. The process would repeat itself every so often, and neither understood why she would not just keep draining them.

The Kim king looked on proudly at the abilities of his children, but kept an eye on the battle. The influx of new intruders seemed to have slowed down, but he still could not spot where they were coming from. He would need Yuri back in the room soon, she’ll be able to get answers from the remaining attackers. The King grabbed onto the nearest guard and told him to capture a few of them, instead of killing them. The guard nodded, and waved two of his special men away from the fray and told them to capture one of each wave and to bring them down to the dungeons.

Outside, the two guards were fighting more assailants at the time. Siwon had joined Sooyoung in bringing out more men at a time. With Siwon’s teleportation, the two were able to get men out at a quicker pace to be disposed of. “How many are there?” Yuri called out, frustrated. The bodies kept stacking up around them but the live ones keep coming still.

“The influx stalled somewhat,” Siwon said, as he reappeared with two men. Tiffany quickly disposed of both, under the appreciative eyes of the tall man. “They’re holding up in there, and the King had a few captured already, in the dungeons. He wants you and Kyuhyun to question them after.” Sooyoung appeared with a pair of men as well, just as Siwon left. Yuri nodded to thin air, and quickly grabbed onto her blade again. The men stood no chance, and the bodies fell to the side.

“Clean up won’t be pleasant after this,” Yuri murmured to herself, looking around. Tiffany followed her glance, and nodded in agreement. “You are a very skilled fighter Hwang-ssi” The latter looked up in surprise, not expecting the compliment. “We know talent when we see it,” She continued, “Shame that you are not part of our guard, some of our men could do with some shaping up”

“You are not so shabby yourself, Kwon-ssi, the addition of your skills won’t be unnoticed in our ranks either. The marriage between prince Yunho and princess Taeyeon bring in more than peace to our clans.” Yuri nodded, “Too bad prince Jaejoong was not marrying one of your princesses, then we would have your expertise as well” The tone was light, despite the circumstances. However, both the testing the other, trying to gage what either knew.

“They both have been gone quite a while now,” Yuri noticed, frowning slightly.

“Maybe it died down inside,” Tiffany proposed, but the tanner woman shook her head. “No, Sooyoung would have come and told us. Something’s happening. Follow me.” Yuri led the way into the castles, making sure to take the larger hallways, where everything was in plain sight. She sighed, many of their guards had been ambushed, which was how they had made their way in. Going closer to the main room, both women stopped and hid in surprise. There were two guards at the front door. But they weren’t just any guards.

OK Taecyeon and Park Jaebum were no ordinary vampires. They were ruthless on the battlefield and took sick pleasure in what they do. Many called the Kim barbarians, but Ok and Park were much worse. But both are loyal to a fault, and instantly, they knew who was behind this ambush.

The two guards looked at each other and nodded. If these two were here, then guaranteed, Nickhun was inside. That was not a reassuring thought. If Hyoyeon could drain one person’s energy and redirect it, Nickhun could do so on a larger scale, as long as he was grounded. They needed a way in without alerting the man inside.

They don’t know how their skills measured up to the two men, but they’ll find out.  

Inside the room, everything had come to a standstill. Nickhun Horveljuk had appeared, and the influx of soldiers had stopped. Jaejoong and Yunho both frowned, this is not good. The former threw a quick glance at the princesses and was glad to see Yoona’s shield still up. He worried though, Hyoyeon could not keep replenishing her energy if she had no one to grab, and dropping the shield to let her out was too risky. They needed Yuri and the Hwang in here now.

A small buzz in the back of his mind alerted him of two other presences. He smiled slightly, they were outside the door. “What are you smiling at Prince?” Nickhun asked, “You are surrounded.” Jaejoong just shook his head and pointed up, to where the breach was.

Approaching the man head on would not be a smart move. But if there was a counter to Nickhun’s power, this was it. They just needed a distraction for her to work her magic. The man could do nothing if he was not grounded on the floor, his power was on such a large scale that without grounding, he would just overcharge himself.

Yunho looked up, seeing nothing but an empty ceiling. What was he pointing at? A small movement caught his eye, and he saw that princess Taeyeon and Hyoyeon were slowly backing away from the shield, and headed towards them. The latter would slightly brush against all the opposing soldiers, as they weave behind them without them noticing. The touch so light that they barely felt it. All eyes were on Nickhun, as he taunted Jaejoong.

She dared not take too much, in case Nickhun noticed the shift in energy in the room, but still fed it to her sister in steady doses.

“I see nothing,” he calls out, “What are you plotting?” Jaejoong remained silent, a smirk on his face. A cry outside the doors had Nickhun turning his back to the family, and as the door flung open to show Yuri standing tall with a head in her hand, Nickhun went flying up in the air.

Jessica’s eyes widened, and felt her sister grab onto her in similar shock. They both turned away from the gory sight, and saw their mother bury her face in her father’s neck. This was a Kim guard at work, but where was Tiffany.

Yuri and Tiffany stood behind their columns still, making no movement at all. They listened carefully to the sounds inside, and the two men that stood guard remained just as impassive. Yuri’s eyes were closed, masterfully weaving an illusion in the minds of the people inside, projecting an image of her holding a bloody head while simultaneously tuning out all noises from the heads of the two men. Tiffany watched the woman at work, having been let into the plan mentally, and was slowly inching towards the darts hidden on her. Hopefully, her darts will be faster than the sound of them cutting through the air.

“Yuri ah!” Taeyeon called out, and the woman outside broke her illusions. Tiffany’s darts had reached Park but Ok had just narrowly avoided it. As one man was on the floor unconscious, the two charged the taller one. His sword skills were as good as Yuri’s but stood no chance against Tiffany. She was not a weapon mistress for nothing.

They forced the man backwards into the room, and a silent message passed between them. Yuri quickly left the battle, as their appearance woke up the soldiers and the fighting began again. With Nickhun in the air, and helpless, the task was much easier this time around. The soldiers were panicking, as they could see Jaebum’s motionless body outside. She reached Taeyeon’s side in no time, and stood guard for her princess.

“Are you ok Princess?” The shorter of two nodded as Sooyoung appeared behind Hyoyeon. Siwon and Yoochun also popped up next to their princes and stood guard. Yunho watched as Tiffany continued her battle with Taecyeon, having a clear advantage but the man was also swifter than her.

They were being charged at, the men quickly figuring out that Taeyeon was keeping the man in the air. The warriors prepared themselves for the charge, counting 20 men left to fight. Yuri and Sooyoung closed their eyes, preparing themselves. Yunho and Yoochun both prepared themselves as well, but Jaejoong and Siwon held them back.

“Gentlemen, enjoy the show.” Jaejoong said, sitting down on a nearby chair. Taeyeon had brought a man to Hyoyeon and she was steadily draining the man to keep her sister’s energy level up. Suddenly the charging men disappeared, as a cloud of shadow surrounded them. Yuri opened her eyes, and a smirk came to her red lips. “Are you ready Soo?”

“Of course Yul” Both women disappeared, and suddenly, all one could hear were screams from inside the cloud. The darkness had dissipated slightly, allowing the viewers to see what was happening inside. The Jung sisters stayed in each other’s arms, and Amber stood guard next to them, a slight tick in her face was the only reaction to the sight in front of her.

This was why these guards were feared, they rendered the opponent completely disorientated and cut them down one by one, allowing each to see the demise of the other. Tiffany had finally managed to corner Ok Taecyeon, and considered backing him into the cloud of shadows, but decided against it when he fought back. Siwon saw that she was slightly in trouble and a nod from Jaejoong sent him straight to her side, distracting the taller man from his fight and watched with satisfaction as Tiffany’s blade made contact, and Ok Taecyeon was no more.

Yuri and Sooyoung were laughing where they were. It has been a while since they were let out to play. Jaejoong, Taeyeon, Junsu and Siwon all joined in the laughter. The tangible scent of blood in the air was a welcomed one; this was the smell of victory.

The Jung family watched in morbid fascination, wondering how and why they ever went against them. How had they lasted, as this was no ordinary army, this was the Anh army. They recruited only men with talents that could last on the battlefield. The Kim King smiled arrogantly, this was not what he had planned when he opened his doors to the Jung, but a show of strength did not hurt. Maybe they would think twice about integrating Taeyeon in their family, as she showed the same blood thirst as the rest of the family. Maybe they rather have Jessica come here, to keep it away from their house. This might just work in their favor. He waved the same guard over, whispering to prepare gift boxes for the Anh, he was sending them a present after this.

“We cannot let this bloodthirsty woman into our home!” Jung Minhyuk told his wife when they reached their room that night, after the battle was over. She shook her head, “Minhyuk-ah, I refuse to let Jessica into this family, they are all crazy! Let her come, she’ll have no choice but to follow our rules!”

“A woman like Kim Taeyeon is not easily tamed,” the king said, unknowingly parroting Kim Jaejoong’s words from earlier, “If we try to do anything like that, not only will she retaliate, but that guard of hers will too. Kwon Yuri is not someone we want against us, in our own home.”

“Then forbid her from coming with her!”

“Forbidding the princess’ guard from protecting her might as well restart the war. We cannot, our supplies are running low, and any more fighting, and we are bound to lose. The elders did not force us to make peace, we had to Mina!”

“So you propose just offering Jessica up, because you are scared of two women!”

In the shadows, Yuri and Sooyoung smirked. This assault was a blessing in disguise after all.  

“We will see Mina, they must have a weakness… They were infiltrated tonight, there has to be a breach…”