As soon as the clock struck midnight it was time to move, and fast. With the guards onto their rotations I had exactly 4 minutes and 15 seconds to make it to the outskirts of the castle, where I would no longer be dressed in the royal fabrics which somehow defined my existence, but rather I would be disguised as a peasant. This transformation of character used to happen much more often, with it I would escape to a nearby village that is filled with light and an overall sense of freedom, I called it JaYu. The villagers there are welcome to do as they please, as long as it follows the kingdoms laws, there they are free from supervision and criticism, something I wish to be free of every night but understand the impossibilities of such a dream due to my position in court. I am Princess Lee Young Soo, future queen of the Middle Kingdom and daughter of King San, one of the greatest rulers to ever live. He has conquered far away lands, and brought peace to war filled ones. With such success, it would be impossible to be void of enemies, and due to this, our castle has received a recent  abundance of threats from the outside causing an increase in soldiers. The enemy is unknown which causes great dissatisfaction to my father the king. He has been working hard to keep these matters quiet in order to maintain calm waters amongst our people, but words spread like fire amongst the servants once they are heard, creating feelings of unease in the castle. Out of fear the workers unconsciously lower their guard of professionalism as they turn to gossip assuming the worst of the situation, allowing me to receive information never meant for my ears, but all in all good to know. Given these past chaotic events, sneaking out from the castle has become a much more trivial task, leaving me trapped in the suffocation of the palace for weeks. I chose tonight on a whim, if caught I’ll be severely punished but I believe I can make it within the time limit of the guards rotations. Tonight I’ll risk it all for JaYu!   

After running on tiptoe, and finding the right shadows to duck into while holding my breath all along the way, I finally made it to the outskirts of the castle! I was ecstatic, I felt as if no matter what would happen the smile could not be wiped from my lips. I felt free, a liveliness overcame me as I switched into my peasant clothing and embarked on the path that would lead me to JaYu. I couldn't have been happier in these moments, but a shiver suddenly ran down my spine, and it was then that I knew somebody was watching me. As the kings one and only daughter, he had many people spy on me, for one thing he wanted to make sure I was using the skills taught to me during my lessons in everyday activities. And another was that my safety be guaranteed. I knew this feeling quite well.. that shiver, but it felt different than usual, it felt strange. I stopped and looked around only to be greeted by the ominous dark clouds gathering overhead. I suddenly had a bad feeling, but chose to ignore it. Perhaps I was being paranoid, that's what I told myself, yeah, the adrenaline from my race to the outskirts was still quite high, and it was causing me to believe that the shiver was something more than the effect of the chilled winds. I should’ve known better, but I missed the village too much, I was already risking so much by leaving the castle during a time of great uncertainty, so ignoring one more thing such as this wouldn't make any difference in my decision.   

I embarked on my usual route towards my destination. Excited to see the lights put up, and to meet with the grandmothers and aunts of the village that would always serve me a warm meal every time I arrived, they were like family to me and I couldn’t wait to see them! But while walking that awful feeling returned to me, I felt like something horrible was about to happen and just when I was ready to turn back out of fear I was knocked to the ground, slow to react out of the shock that ran through me. Never in my life had I ever been pushed in such a manner, I was the Princess of the Middle Kingdom, but nobody out here knew it, I was seen as a peasant outside of the castle, and that guaranteed no safety for me. I looked up and saw a group of masked men, they looked poor, and malnourished. I knew they were here to rob me, but as I looked up at them I couldn’t help but be taken back in time to when I was six years old, somehow this meeting reminded me of when I met him.

*Flashback*

The luminescent lights danced through the subtle sway of the breeze that one afternoon. The day was bright and promising for an adventure, wanting to run about the trees Youngsoo quickly stopped herself remembering her father's words, she was to be extra careful not to cause any embarrassment by tripping or running around. Youngsoo was suddenly very careful in how she moved as to not fall on her dress while walking through the castle, but upon noticing her father who had just gotten remarried to keep peace with other kingdoms, she allowed everything she had been told to tumble out of her mind as she excitedly ran to her father with the expectation of him catching her when she would jump into his arms, as he always did, but due to a heavy and long dress Youngsoo accidentally ran into the king's new wife instead, spilling her drink all over her dress. The king not having the patience for his six year old yelled, “why would you run in such a dress when we put you in it with the intentions of keeping you still?! Do you have no sense?!” Youngsoo startled by her fathers outburst tried to reply in a proper way, but was overcome by her emotions as she stuttered out in a quiet voice, “I-I’m so s-sorry father, ‘sniffle’, I didn't mean t-”,

 “What have I told you? If you cannot speak in a knowledgeable manner then do not speak at all, do you know how embarrassing it is to have a daughter that talks like a peasant?!” Youngsoo could not help but let a single tear escape, and with that she ran away, not wanting to be scrutinized for anymore of her actions, she was now a failure in her father's eyes, and this made her heart clench with sadness, as all of his love for her had now been given to his new wife, Queen Huang. 

By the time Youngsoo was out of breath she had reached the other side of the castle where the battlegrounds are. Never having been there she couldn't help but start to explore the area, it was truly fascinating, the grounds were all dirt, whereas on the Right Wing all of the floors were made of marble, and there were bugs! Bugs were super rare on the other side, but over here there was a huge abundace of them that were all so interestingly shaped. It was in that moment that Youngsoo decided the West Wing of the castle would be her new home, she would live here for the rest of her life, and her father would never find her, because he was going to be with that “proper” and “pretty”, and SNOBBY Queen Huang who would never dare step foot in this wonderful place she would surely describe as dirty. 

While walking around, taking in the scent of her new home, a sudden yell seemingly directed at her came from ahead. Looking up she witnessed a boy her age pointing a sword at her, Youngsoo thinking maybe she could make a friend that was actually her age, and not a maid smiled at the boy, but he ignored it and started his interrogation asking, 

“What are you doing here?” Youngsoo, not liking his tone replied in the same manner, as she said, “I’m exploring, and I would’ve asked you to join me but you don’t seem to be very nice.” “Exploring? You’re not allowed to do that here, these are the battlegrounds, a place meant for men, not little girls!” 

“I’m not a little girl! And you're not a man, so who do you think you are to be on these battlegrounds?”

 “Me? Why should I tell you, you might be an enemy, telling you my relations could hurt me later, if not now.” The boy wielded his sword closer to the princess, Youngsoo shocked at his behavior yelled, 

“I’m the daughter of the king! Now lower your weapon!” Although stated with the most fierce and intimidating tone known to man, the boy laughed, 

"Yeah right. Well, I'm the son of the Grand General. Show some respect."

"You show respect! I'm the daughter of the king and the king is better than the Grand General!"

"Appa! Did you hear that?! She says the king is better than you!"

"Kai! Put your sword down! And you call me Grand General"

Kai listens and nods his head. The Grand general kneels to Young Soo's height.

"What are you doing here? It's not safe."

Young Soo stays quiet.

"Well are you hungry?"

Young Soo nods her head. Kai just watches. His father has never shown him this kind of affection. The Grand General goes to get Young Soo some bread rolls filled with meat. 

"Oh my favorite!" Young Soo cheered as the Grand General handed her a roll.

She took a bite out of it happily. Kai just stared. He had never had one of those rolls.

"Appa! Watch! I've been practicing with my sword!"

"Call me Grand General." He says seriously to his son. "Show me."

Kai begins doing a sword move difficult for any soldier, let alone any six year old, but he handles it really well, until the end where he falls. His father looks disappointed. When Kai fell he cut his hand, he yelped in pain, but hid the cut as to not seem weak to his father. Kai looks down at the ground ashamed. His father walks away. 

Young Soo noticed the cut and dropped the roll on the ground running to Kai's side.

"Are you okay?"

"You dropped the roll," he mumbled.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"You dropped the roll," he says a little louder.

"What?" She looks at the roll and then back at Kai. "Who cares about the roll? You're hurt!"

"You dropped the roll!" he yelled, pushing Young Soo to the ground and running off to find a nurse nearby to wrap his hand.

Young Soo got up and dusted herself off and scoffed at his attitude.

*End flashback*

Young Soo looked up to see all the men around her were knocked down and unconscious. When she looked up she saw Kai standing there.

"Kai?"

“Are you going to continue sitting there until they wake up? My god, if that's the case then it really shows how far you’ll go for some attention.”

“That’s not the case!”

She gets up and dusts herself off.

Kai stares at her for a little as she does so.

"What are you doing here anyways?" She asks him.

"I can walk around too."

He then starts to walk towards the village. 

Young