Yoona crept from hallway to hallway, wondering how long it would be until her tutor noticed that she was missing. She hoped that he would have at least a quarter of a good heart to understand how miserably bored she was, sitting through her lessons and being totally unable to go outside without an entourage of guards escorting her.

When it became clear that there was nothing of interest amongst the palace, Yoona began to head back. Halfway through the courtyard, she brushed by the man who would change her life forever.

“Ah- Princess Yoona! Do you have a minute?” he called out to her.

Surprised, Yoona glanced up at him. Even though she had known since they were children, he had really grown up into a fine general, shining with brilliant strength and youth. The princess had always admired him, but at a distance and it was the first time in a while that he had spoken to her.

“What is it, General Donghae?”

“There’s something I must discuss with you today- a letter sent specifically to you was accidentally dropped off by the royal guard’s training hall. It has extremely important details on the current war.”

Yoona raised an eyebrow. “Well, why don’t you just show me it now?”

He let out an impatient sigh, glancing around quickly at the many servants and guards passing through the courtyard. “Whoever sent it insisted that you read it in as reclusive a place as possible- it apparently contains very confidential information and…well, there have been a number of spies recently. They just may have already penetrated into the palace…”

The princess hesitated. If he put it that way…

“Fine- I’ll meet you in my room after my evening lessons.”

“Alright…I’ll see you tonight then,” he confirmed, gazing at the princess with a look of hidden meaning and intensity that would be discovered later that night.

The sun had long sunk beyond the horizon when he finally arrived by her door.

“Is there no one here?” he asked.

“I dismissed Seohyun for the night, so yes, it’s just us.”

“Well that’s…convenient.” Yoona found his tone to be suspicious and tensed when he shut and locked the door behind him.

“General Donghae…what is the top secret information that was addressed to me?” she questioned him.

“Forgive me, Princess,” he said. “…but I’m afraid there was never such a thing.”

Yoona felt a chilling anxiety tumble through her as his strong, manly form approached her. “Then what was the point of this meeting?” she asked, taking a cautious step back. He advanced quickly torward Yoona, coing so close that she could feel his warm, sweet breath hitting her face.

“You’re so close…” he whispered, his fingers lightly caressing her cheek and brushing back a strand of hair. “…yet always so far away from my grasp…despite how I’ve longed for you.” Yoona wanted to push him off, to run away but she was trapped, both by his hands which held her arms firmly to her side and by his mesmerizing brown eyes.

“General…what are you…” The last part of her sentence never left her tongue, for it was then that he leaned in and stole away her breath, as well as her first kiss- and it did not simply stop there.

When Yoona overcame her distracting dizziness from lack of oxygen, he had already pinned her down on her own bed, his lips roaming everywhere on her body. No matter how much she struggled, his strength overpowered hers and held her down.

She had never known another time in her life when her fiery spirit had been so dampened by helplessness. She could only lie there, whimpering in fear and pleasure as he mounted atop of her, plundering her lips, her innocence and her ity.

When it was over, the nightmare took a new and frightening turn.

Instead of threatening her like he had six months ago, Donghae embraced her and nibbled her ear, murmuring, “I love you.” And instead of feeling immense guilt and disgust wash over like it had that first encounter, Yoona felt her heart yearning to say, “I love you too…Donghae…”

Suddenly, she felt his touch slowly fading away. When Yoona turned over, she saw him dissolving away, right before her very eyes. She tried to reach out and grab him, but was then confronted with the scene of her father announcing Donghae’s punishment.

It soon morphed into a vision of Donghae on the execution stand, a large sword poised just above his head, ready to fall…

“No…NO!!!!” Yoona screamed…and suddenly felt herself hit the ground with a thud.

Slowly, she hoisted herself up, rubbing her drowsy eyes. Oh it was just a dream… Yoona thought. It had been a nightmare that the princess used to have frequently in the past six months, due to the general’s advances but now, things had changed. Now, Yoona knew she had to use everything in her power to prevent Donghae’s death, no matter what the consequences would be.

Heart in , Yoona quickly glanced at the large grandfather clock that stood in a corner of her room. The hands were pointed so that it was ten sharp; outside her window, it was still night.

The princess breathed a sigh of relief. There’s still time before…the execution…okay, Yoona. It’s time to pay Donghae back for being an idiot and saving your life again, Yoona told herself, making a plan in her head.So long as that passageway is still there, I should be good…

Just as Yoona was about to put her plan into action, the guards standing watch outside her room opened the door and shoved a bleeding Seohyun harshly through, then slammed the door shut, the lock clicking in place.

“Seohyun!” the princess cried, feeling shame and guilt surge as she examined the maid’s wounds. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry, I asked you to help me and look where it got you…!”

“It…it is nothing, unnie.” Seohyun’s voice was barely audible, but she still pulled up her robes, trying to hide the fresh slash marks branded onto her skin.

Seeing her maid, her friend, in such a state as this was heart wrenching to Yoona. “Did…did my father do this to you?” she whispered. Seohyun hesitated, but could help uttering a whimper.

Yoona stood up, holding back her tears and clenching her fists together. She was now more determined than ever to make her plan work. “Seohyun…I am forever in your debt. To have you punished in my place…is unforgivable.” Yoona gently moved Seohyun to her bed, the maid unable to even protest due to her fatigue.

The princess approached her bookshelf and, making as little noise as possible, moved it over to reveal a part of the stone wall which contained various cracks. Gingerly, Yoona began to take pieces of stone out of the cracked region until a large hole was revealed, leading to a secret passageway which the princess had discovered when she was young and had explored the palace in her spare time.

“Princess…you couldn’t be…” Seohyun stuttered, eyes widening.

“Seohyun…just lay there and blame everything on me, it will be fine, I promise.”

“You…are truly an admirable person, Unnie,” Seohyun said. “I shall help you to the end. But good luck.” Yoona nodded solemnly before disappearing down the passageway.

The courage and determination Yoona had gathered before entering the dungeon were quickly replaced with shock and relief that nearly turned her legs to jelly as soon as she caught sight of Donghae in his cell. He was slumped against the wall, his hands chained in front of him and it appeared that he had suffered a brutal beating from the guards- an observation that angered Yoona greatly.

When he finally heard her approaching him, he held his head up and was astounded. “…Yoona? I…I thought you were put under lockdown!” Donghae said as he crawled towards her, shock evident in his voice.

The princess smiled wryly and said, “I found means of escaping my own prison- and there are some guards in the palace who I can easily convince to do anything for me- so long as I have the riches to pay them.” Trembling, both from the dank coolness of the dungeon and from the prospect of possibly never seeing him again, Yoona leaned in as far as the cage bars would let her and lightly touched his cheek. Donghae shut his eyes and touched his own hand with hers. He inhaled deeply, as if memorizing her scent.

Unable to hold her tears in any longer, Yoona broke down. “Donghae…just when I realized…how much I care for you, how much I love you…you’re sentenced to be executed…fate is cruel, isn’t it? You…you can’t die. I can’t live in this world if you die…” Her quiet sobs echoed in the dungeon, tears openly streaming down her face. Why couldn’t she and Donghae live in a world where they could love each other freely, as equals?

“Yoona…” Donghae finally spoke. He reached into his shirt and pulled out what looked to be silver whistle with a strange engraving on it. “Do you recognize this symbol?” he asked her, offering it to the princess. Yoona took the whistle and examined it. There was something familiar about the unique likeness of the engraved symbol and the princess quickly ran through years worth of history lessons to recall where it was from.

She made a little gasp when she finally realized it. “Is this...is this the emblem of the Juseong kingdom?” The Juseong kingdom was a legendary civilization, the most advanced in its time, that had teemed with all sorts of people practiced in many talents- including magic. Its culture had mysteriously fallen and its people disappeared when Yoona was very young.

“…How do you have this? I thought…I thought that when the entire kingdom fell, even its ruins and artifacts all completely vanished…!” the princess whispered excitedly.

Donghae offered her a grim smile and said, “You are looking at one of the last survivors of the Juseong dynasty. More specifically, the very last heir to the throne.” Yoona’s jaw dropped open. No way… she thought incredulously. And all this time…he’s been working as a general, in a lower rank than what he truly is…!

As Yoona continued to stare at him with wonder, Donghae could not help but smirk at her expression. “Surprised, are you?” he remarked smugly. “Now, I don’t have time to give you a crash course lesson on the history regarding Juseong and Yonsei, so you’re just going to have to trust me here. Keep the whistle.” Yoona started to object, but Donghae cut her off.

“Something is going to occur tonight. I can’t explain everything right now and I apologize for that. But Yoona…if you are to feel your life to be utterly threatened at any point from tonight to tomorrow morning, blow this whistle. Help will come, I promise.”

Yoona protested, “Donghae…you’re confusing me, what’s going to happen…?!”

“Shh!” They were both utterly silent until they could hear a faint but distinct clomping of boots above them. “, the guards are coming. Yoona, I beg of you, just trust me. This absolutely will not fail, so long as you cooperate and blow that damn whistle if you’re in danger.” Yoona started to head out the door, but then paused.

“W…Will I ever get to see you again?” she asked tearfully, her voice trembling. Donghae only gave her a cocky, confident smirk and signaled vigorously for her to leave.

I have absolutely no idea what kind of plan Donghae has…I just seriously hope it doesn’t get him killed, Yoona thought to herself as she discreetly made her way to the king’s study room, hoping that he was still awake. In the meantime…I have to continue with my own plan.

The door to the study room was ajar and a wan light spilled out into a fraction of the corridor. Yoona was just about to throw herself headlong into the room when she realized that her father was having a discussion with someone. She withdrew herself into the shadows and waited.

“…Your Majesty should have at least brought her in for questioning. There is always the high possibility that General Donghae was simply defending her and she may as well have initiated the entire affair herself.” Yoona shuddered upon hearing Taecyeon’s voice.

“He did have a good point about the relationship between Yonsei and the Hanyang kingdom though…all would have been lost if they heard about the incident and lost the trust bond I so desperately needed.”

“Well, Your Majesty should not have bothered. It seems the leaders of Hanyang have finally relented- to the point where they even sent the dowry present to us early. It arrived just an hour ago.” Yoona peeked her head in ever so slightly to see what was going on. The grand vizier handed the king a package, one that the monarch handled delicately and with great caution, as if it were the only thing that mattered to him. When it was completely unwrapped, he held in his hands a large, pure blue jewel.

“…At last…after nearly twenty years of relentless research and wasteful wars…the last treasure is finally in my hands…” There was a lustful, possessive tone in the king’s voice.

“After many sacrifices as well- including the life of the queen,” Taecyeon added.

“Bah! The wench deserved to die. She dared to conspire against me with the last magician who I brought in from the lost Juseong kingdom to do research for me.”

“You mean the Juseong kingdom which you ordered the destruction of,” the grand vizier reminded the king.

The king waved it off as if it the death of an entire civilization was completely insignificant. “She went and lay with that very damned magician- and bore his child. I guess her daughter really takes after her in regards to unfaithfulness.”

“However did you find out about it?”

“Your uncle, the previous grand vizier, was observant enough to point it out to me. Afterwards, I took the magician in for punishment- but the bastard killed himself before he gave away the last part of the research for eternal life was completed. Thankfully, your uncle, whom I owe a serious debt to, traveled beyond the Jeon province for two years before returning with the last piece of the puzzle to complete the entire research on eternal life.”

“And what was it that he said you needed?”

“A girl in the prime of her youth is to be sacrificed and made an offering along with the four stones of Jeon to the god Kangnam of magic and trickery- that’s exactly what it said,” the king told the grand vizier. “Although, thanks to the additional research you conducted, it does not necessarily have to be a girl, so the incident does not affect us as badly as I thought it would. And so, I thought- what better than to raise the child of the magician and my wife to serve the ultimate purpose: being sacrificed so as to grant me, the king of Yonsei, the power of eternal life so that I may dominate the Jeon province- and beyond. So thus I let her live until the day I acquired all the stones of Jeon…”

His voice had slowly turned into one of maniacal insanity. Yoona was stood there, shell-shocked as she realized just how malicious, despicable and greedy her father- no, the king’s true personality was. Just as she was about to turn to run for her life, it was her terrible misfortune to have Taecyeon finally turn his attention to the door and remark, “Well, well- looks like we have a visitor who most likely heard everything.”

Yoona froze, her heart beating wildly and adrenaline coursing through her body. “Hmph, how inconvenient,” said the king. “So you now know the true story- but it doesn’t matter now. I have everything needed to gain the power that I’ve longed for. The only thing I need to get set up…is your role in this.”

Finally, Yoona turned towards the king, and in an unsteady, quavering voice, asked, “F-Father…s-so many people…have been killed…in the wars you fought…which were only for your own selfish purposes…why…?” The king finally snapped- he advanced towards her and slapped her fully across the face.

“You would never understand, so shut the hell up you impudent child! The idiot people of this kingdom are meant to be used!” he screamed and kicked Yoona down the floor. “And don’t you ever address me as ‘Father’ again! You are not my child and you are not the future ruler of Yonsei! I will forever be the ruler of Yonsei! You are just the filthy child of the bastard and the !!” He spat on her, hoping that he had broken her spirit.

But the king was wrong. A steely glint shone in Yoona’s eyes as she glared at the man who would willingly hurt others for his own self interest. “Then this filthy child thinks you are a rotten, evil man who will never get away with this.” Yoona immediately got up and bolted- but did not get very far when the king called for backup and guards captured her quickly.

“Now…prepare the altar! It is time…” the king ordered the grand vizier and grinned wickedly at Yoona. “It’s of no use to struggle- just simply cooperate and I’ll make your death as quick as possible.”

As Yoona vigorously scratched and kicked to no avail, her hand brushed by a cold metal that hung round her neck. The whistle! Yoona remembered. Well…I’ve got nothing to lose. Might as well try it and see what happens. She elbowed a guard who was holding onto her hand hard in the jaw and, grabbing the whistle, blew as hard as she could into it.

Yoona’s heart sank as not a single sound was emitted by the whistle. Donghae you pabo, you gave me a broken whistle! A guard manage to grab hold of her other arm and, with combined brute strength, they began dragging Yoona towards the study room

It was right at that moment all hell broke loose.

A huge crash shattered the floor to ceiling windows of the large study room and an enormous shadow fell upon them. Yoona turned around and laid eyes on the strangest creature she had ever seen- a gargantuan turquoise lizard with three pointed horns on each side of its head and enormous red wings which was whipping its tail back and forth, causing more destruction to the windows and study room while eyeing the guards hungrily.

The situation became even stranger when a tall, lanky man with messy, unkempt hair clothed in dark clothes suddenly appeared on top of the creature and scolded, “No, no Ming- you already had your dinner. Any more will give you horrible indigestion like last time.” Carelessly, he slid off the creature’s back and looked around, seemingly oblivious to the stunned attention he was drawing.

“Let’s see…who blew the whistle…” The man caught sight of the whistle hanging around Yoona’s neck. “Oh yes, you! Yeah- you’re the princess Donghae-gakha told me to save. Well come along now, we don’t have all night.” Yoona continued to stare at him, dumbfounded by his carefree nature.

The king spoke in a choked voice, his eyes never leaving the terrible creature, “That…that…is a Juseong Dragon…! I…I thought we completely exterminated them…what the hell is this one doing alive…and who the hell are you…?!” The strange man finally noticed the king and everyone else and gave them an eerie smile.

“Yup- Ming is the last of his kind. Oh, so you’re the king that destroyed my hometown? Right, well- I could kill you right now, but Donghae-gakha specifically told me to keep body count to a minimum and focus on the mission, which is to save this girl. So since you’re going to get in the way…” The man raised his hand and a blinding light was emitted from his palm. When Yoona blinked her eyes open, the king, the grand vizier and the guards were all frozen in place.

“Wha…” she stuttered, still trying to process what just happened, but the man suddenly scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder and ran.

“Time to go!” he announced cheerfully. “Unfortunately, that spell isn’t going to last very long so they’ll be hot on our trail anytime now.”

“Hold on a second!” Yoona shouted. “You know Donghae?”

“Know Donghae-gakha? Hell, I’ve served him for all my life! Call me Kyuhyun- the last magician of the near-extinct Juseong clan. Now no more chitchat, princess, I’ve gotta deliver you to an acquaintance- Oi! Prince guy!”

To Yoona’s shock, Nichkhun was waiting impatiently at the end of the corridor. “Oh thank goodness you’re safe Yoona,” said the prince once Kyuhyun set her down. “Now make sure you find all the stones and get back here straightaway.” Kyuhyun nodded and ran off.

“What is this, Nichkhun…how…?!”  

Nichkhun explained hastily, “The Hanyang kingdom has been suspecting the king of Yonsei for foul play in the extinction of Juseong and the death of his wife for quite some time. Then, we found Donghae and his companion Kyuhyun wandering around in the kingdom and we took them in. We managed to piece everything together- the king had ordered the destruction of Juseong and ransacked all the ruins until he found their stone. By the time we realized it, he had already sent spies to collect the stones of the other kingdoms.  We then made a plan to thwart his ill intentions. All that we had to do was wait until he was almost ready to put everything into action- so we sent over the sapphire of Hanyang to provoke him into carrying out his plans tonight. I’m so relieved everything went smoothly.”

“But Nichkhun, he still has the stone…”

“Not to worry. In case our plan was to fail, I purposely instructed my prime minister to send over a fake…”

Yoona had one last question to ask the prince. “Nichkhun…what are you going through all this trouble for? Couldn’t you get someone else to carry out this mission?”

“I have a love for my kingdom, similar to your love for Yonsei. I wish to personally serve my people and protect them…as well as a special person who’s important to me.” Yoona recalled the last time she had seen him.

“Is that person…Lady Victoria?”

Nichkhun nodded, a sheepish smile on his lips. “I’m sorry Yoona. I still do value you as a true friend of mine…and I was aware of your, er, relationship with Donghae…” Yoona blushed and gave Nichkhun an awkward hug which he returned. “We’ll meet again someday…you are still an honorable princess, no matter what…”

“Yoona! I thought you said you loved me!” A familiar, joking voice rang out in the hallway and echoed in Yoona’s heart. Immediately, she ran towards Donghae and tackled him. Nichkhun smiled at them and disappeared down a passageway.

“You jerk!” she shrieked. “Couldn’t you at least tell me about this?!” Donghae only chuckled and kissed her on the forehead.

“Oh how cute,” came Taecyeon’s mocking voice. Behind him was a crowd of guards as well as the king.

“There it is- the last stone!” Kyuhyun cheered to himself as he found the jewel encased in a hidden room which he had just broken into. Right when he was about to take it, the guards who had been chasing him piled into the room.

“Halt, intruder!” they yelled. Kyuhyun simply sighed and held out his hand again, freezing them in place. He retrieved the jewel and walked out of the room, right into the middle of a huge commotion. The guards appeared to be trying to apprehend a young girl. It was Seohyun, but Kyuhyun didn’t know that. It didn’t matter to him- in his heart, he knew he just had to save her.

With a swift movement, he did a neat leg sweep that knocked the guards away. “Are you alright, dear?” he asked, gently helping the maid to her feet.

“Yes…” Seohyun said, blushing.

“Miss…” Kyuhyun got on his knee and kissed Seohyun’s hand. "I know not why I suddenly feel this way, but…I implore you to come with me.”

“What? But…what about the princess…I must stay by her side!” Seohyun protested.

“Oh- the princess? We’re right in the middle of saving her- you might as well come with us.” Before Seohyun could say anything else, Kyuhyun hoisted her over his shoulder and took off.

“Seize her- and make sure none of the escape,” ordered the king. The guards charged at Donghae.

Taecyeon grabbed Yoona’s wrist and said, “You’re going to have to come with me…” Suddenly, a fist collided with his jaw and his head snapped back.

“Don’t you dare touch Yoona, you piece of scum,” Donghae growled. The guards that swarmed around him froze. He turned and saw Kyuhyun running past him, with Seohyun still over his shoulder. “About time, you slacker!” he yelled out to the taller man. Donghae then grabbed Yoona and urged her to run.

“Seohyun!” Yoona cried out happily as soon as she caught up. “Oh, thank you so much for saving her Kyuhyun…”

“Yeah no problem- do me a favor and blow the whistle again.” Yoona immediately complied. The escapades reached the library, which was a dead end. The guards were slowly but surely regaining their movement again and Yoona looked Donghae worriedly. “What do we do?”

“We wait,” Donghae said calmly. Sure enough, just as the guards were halfway there, the humongous Juseong dragon crashed through the windows of the library and lowered its neck, allowing the humans to climb aboard.

“Good boy, Ming,” said Kyuhyun, patting the dragon. “Now up and away!” The dragon backed itself out and flew up into the night sky, leaving behind the king who howled, “NOOO…MY LAST RESORT FOR ETERNAL POWER…!!”

Yoona huddled closer to Donghae as Ming traveled higher up and the temperature grew colder. She noticed Seohyun was hugging Kyuhyun’s waist and her eyes squeezed shut and she smiled.

“They make a good couple,” Donghae remarked. “You know that magician, your father? Kyuhyun is his nephew. That’s your cousin right there.” Yoona nodded with interest, gratitude filling her heart. Then, she laid her head on Donghae's shoulder. 

“Donghae…where are we going?”

“To Juseong, of course.” Yoona gave him a quizzical look. “Hey, the king of Yonsei didn’t kill off all of the people of Juseong. That day, I had taken a bunch of friends to go exploring outside the kingdom. They never found us. We’ve been rebuilding the new kingdom right under their very nose all these years.”

“So…you’re going to be the leader?”

“And…I want you to be my queen.” Donghae’s gaze never left hers…yet Yoona still felt something bothering her.

“But…Donghae, I’m not a princess…how can I possibly be your queen…?”

“Rank or status does not matter where we’re going,” Donghae insisted. “We can love each other freely…as equals.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss, one that Yoona returned with a heated intensity. They held onto each other as they soared into a new future, bright with hope.  

----

A/N: @aether....i'm sorry that this part took so long to write/was lengthy...but this is the only way i could think of to end this ridiculously long oneshot x___x 

btw, sorry if this part seems really choppy. i'll admit that i kind of rushed, but i was also really paranoid about how much space i had left until AFF limited me (LJ did that to me once) and i didn't want to make a fourth part >_> SO! A crash course on the history that Donghae didn't have time to give! xD 

basically, the king of Yonsei was this evil man who wanted to be in power forever and dominate over more people than just his own kingdom- and in his mind, to do so, was to become immortal. back then, the Juseong kingdom was the most powerful and all-knowing in the arts of magic. so, the king appealed to them and got one magician to do research for him. however, this magician (Yoona's father & Kyuhyun's uncle) knew of the king's secret intentions and told the queen about it. eventually, they fell in love and slept with each other, resulting in the conceiving of Yoona. 

the grand vizier of the time (Taecyeon's uncle) was a nosy who knew everyone's business- so of course he knew about the queen's affair and after Yoona was born, he eventually told the king. enraged, the king put the magician under terrible torture in hopes of finding out the last thing he needed to immortality before he killed him. unfortunately for him, the magician committed suicide, leaving that last part unknown to him. the grand vizier then went on a sojourn for two years and found out everything that he needed to know- in order to gain immortality the way the king was setting out to do so he needed the four stones from the kingdoms of Juseong, Daejin, Chuncheon and Hanyang (i wonder if anybody noticed that i used the names of south korean colleges xD) and a girl around 15-16 to sacrifice to the god of Kangnam. 

So, in retaliation of the magician's "treason", the king ransacked the kingdom, found the stone and ordered the destruction of Juseong using a method that (cee-cee was too lazy to come up with this part xP) completely wiped out the population...or so he thought. Prince Donghae was out on an excursion with Kyuhyun and other friends, so their lives were spared. when they returned to find their families massacred and their homes burned to the ground, they wandered to other kingdoms for help and eventually, Prince Nichkhun of the Hanyang kingdom responded to their call and they begun formulating a plan which led to this ridiculously long oneshot xD 

also, the king poisoned the queen, then claimed she died from an illness. just so you guys know. 

BTW. Ming (the Juseong dragon) is a reference to Salamence, the pokemon. he looks like this: http://www.friendcodes.com/forums/members/110661-albums11869-picture81740.html (I'm such a nerd <3) and the whistle which Yoona thought was broken actually emits ultrasonic waves that only Juseong dragons can hear :3 

so anyway! hopefully cee-cee is over this giant writing block she encountered and will start updating more frequently x_x again, i love you guys for subscribing/reading/commenting <3 hwaiting~!