It was the morning of their trip and as Elkie was finishing loading both her's and the princess's bag into the carriage Yeeun came up behind her admiring how strong the knight was. 

"My father wants to see the two of us when you're done Captain." Yeeun smiled awkwardly it felt weird not to use her real name around other people but if their relationship or situation ship or whatever it was was going to last they needed to keep it secret. 

"Of course princess I was just finishing up here." Elkie smiled back smugly noticing how the princess was checking her out and making a mental note of it. 

The pair made their way into the throne room and greeted the king. 

"Yeeun my wonderful daughter it was such an excellent idea to travel to the kingdom of Hong Kong and reestablish an alliance with them. It makes me proud to the leave the kingdom in your hands one day. Of course all we need to do is find you a husband as smart as you to rule alongside you." Yeeun rolled her eyes at her father's words but the king didn't seem to notice as he rambled on. 

"Elkie I'm trusting you now more than ever to keep my daughter safe while you two are away." The king looked at Elkie with a stern expression which made the knight nervous. 

"You can count on me your majesty. I will be by your daughter's side at all times." Elkie bowed before the king before he dismissed them. 

"After you princess." Elkie opened the door for Yeeun shooting a wink at her as she got in. 

"How sweet of you Elkie." Yeeun reached for Elkie's hand once they were in the carriage and alone together.  

"Anything for my princess." Elkie intertwined their finger. Yeeun's head landed on the knight's shoulder. 

"So tell me what do you remember about the kingdom? Are you excited to go back?" Yeeun looked up their eyes meeting and Elkie immediately looked away thinking about how to answer the question. 

"It was beautiful. I remember when I wasn't training I would sneak out at knight to the river and just sit back and admire the stars in the sky. I'm both excited and sad to go back. There's so many happy memories but also devastating ones. I'm just excited to see if anything's changed." Elkie looked out the window before looking back at the princess trying to fight the tears welling up in her eyes. 

"We can make new memories Elkie. I want you to show me everything you used to love. I could see that you wanted to go back so bad since Mark mentioned it to you. I can't imagine how homesick you were." Yeeun rubs her thumb on the back of the knight's hand comforting her with her touch which made Elkie smile. 

The rest of the ride was just casual conversation about all the things Elkie was excited to show the princess. 

When they finally arrived they were greeted by Yuqi and Minnie. 

"Princess Yeeun and Captain Elkie we are so happy to have you here. Please come in so we can show you around the castle." The two queens shook the girl's hands before taking them for a tour around the castle. 

During the tour while Yeeun and Minnie were talking away Yuqi pulled Elkie aside. "Elkie I want to show you a very special room. I think you'll appreciate it. Minnie honey why don't you take Yeeun to where they'll be sleeping for the next three days. I'm gonna show Elkie the memorial room." Yuqi got her wife's attention and Minnie nodded in response before leading Yeeun away.

Yeeun looked over her shoulder as Yuqi and Elkie were walking in the opposite direction. 

She hates being separated from Elkie but she couldn't be rude to their kind hosts. 

Yuqi led Elkie into a room full of plaques and flowers on the wall. 

"After we rebuilt we decided to dedicate the lowest floor in the castle to the people that sadly died during the attack. It's crazy how we are the only survivors. It's so disheartening but I thought you might appreciate it Elkie." Yuqi hung her head getting emotional as she talked. 

Elkie entered the room just looking at all the names on the plaques. They used to be people she knew. 

So many just gone like that. She noticed one name on particular that she couldn't avoid. Hondong's plaque. 

"Somedays I feel so guilty I couldn't save her. I wonder if it should've been me instead of her? What did I do to deserve to stay alive?" Elkie placed her hand on the plaque letting tears fall down her cheeks. 

"Elkie I know how you feel. I wasn't even there when the attack happened. It eats me up inside almost every day but you have a new princess to protect. You're alive because your true job was to protect her. I'm sure Handong is proud of you. I mean look at you, you're the Captain of the royal guard. I know for a fact my sister couldn't be more happy to see where you are now." Yuqi's voice breaks as she steps closer to the knight's shoulder. 

"Thank you your majesty that means more to me than you will ever know. Do you mind if I have just a moment alone?" Elkie turned to look at the queen wiping the tears from her cheeks giving her a small smile. 

"Of course Elkie I should go check on Yeeun and Minnie anyways and by the way you can just call me Yuqi. You're like family to me." Yuqi shot a sincere smile back at Elkie before leaving to go back upstairs and check on the other two. 

As soon as the queen left Elkie dropped to her knees sobbing uncontrollably. 

"If only I could've saved you too Handong. You would love Yeeun though she's so caring. I feel like she's the better half I've always been missing. You two would've been best friends probably." Elkie covers her face with her hands not hearing the footsteps approaching her.

 "Elkie are you okay?" Yeeun's familiar comforting voice made the knight's ears perk up. 
 
She uncovered her face to see the princess kneeling down in front of her.

"I'm fine don't worry. It's just difficult to be here without thinking about Handong." Elkie cleared getting up, Yeeun copying her actions getting up quickly. 

"I know it is Elkie you can let it out as much as you need to. You don't need to bottle up your emotions anymore. Yeeun cupped the knight's cheeks using her thumb to wipe the tears falling down her cheeks.

 Their faces were inches apart, Yeeun was so tempted to just lean in and kiss the knight's lips to comfort her. 
 
Before even thinking it through she was following through with the action leaning in subconsciously but before their lips could even brush against each other's, Yuqi entered the room barging in on the moment.
 
"Sorry to interrupt but dinner is ready for you girls." Yeeun quickly leaned back a flush of pink rushing to her cheeks from the embarrassment.

Dinner was delicious all four girls bonded telling stories from their childhood. Elkie and Yeeun told the story of how they first properly met when the knight was bravely rescuing the prince