The palace was always a rather tranquil place to be. Everything was always peaceful, well that would be true so long as you do not consider the King’s Court Room part of the palace. The court room was a very luxurious room with a huge circular table surrounded by eleven fluffy, well furnished chairs. The King’s Court Room was anything but peaceful. The king and his ten councilmen bickered constantly about anything from important life altering decisions to what they were planning to have for lunch.

“I propose we have pasta for today’s lunch. Who second the proposal?” announced Councilman Hwang.

A very eager council member shot out of his chair and exclaimed, “I SECOND THE PROPOSAL!”

“We have been eating pasta for the past three meetings Councilman Im.” Councilman Choi complained. “How about we have a salad, it has less carbs.”

“Please, like you are the one to talk Councilman Choi.” Retorted Councilman Im. “We had salad four times last week! I will be suffering from malnutrition in a matter of days if I were to resort to such a rural diet.”

“…Councilman Im, need I remind you it is just a salad.” Pointed out Councilman Choi in an exasperated manner.

“EXACTLY! WILD SHRUBBERY ON A PLATE!” All the Councilmen groaned everyone in the room was painfully aware of Councilman Im’s distaste for all things pertaining to vegetables. Once he starts he never stops.

“SILENCE!” Exclaimed the King, an uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. “Councilman Im, I understand that you have a rather…strong hatred for salad, but please respect the suggestions of other the Councilmen.” Councilman Im nodded meekly; the King acknowledged his nod and continued to speak. “How about this? We will have chicken for lunch this today. All in favor?”

Unanimously all of the councilmen agreed to the king’s suggestion. The king looked around, satisfied with the decision he decided to change the topic. “Good. Chicken it is. Now back to business.” The king started to flip through the stack of proposals in front of him while briefly skimming though them. He decided to pick Councilman Oh’s proposal on international relations.

As the king of Eterna he must always first consider the well being of his people. His country was his number one priority. There was no doubt about it. This mindset is what led the royal family to success for generations. Eterna is now a distinguished country known throughout the land.

Councilman Oh’s proposal on international relations involved befriending the other boarding nations via means of offering military assistance, aid, and other promises of fellowship. It was like making an alliance.

“Councilman Oh, will you please elaborate on your proposal?” Asked the king.

“Of course your highness.” Councilman Oh quickly stood up and began to explain the benefits of making alliances. “I believe that forming several alliances with bordering countries would be beneficial to Eterna. Alliances dissuade other countries from attacking, and if war was to break out regardless our allies would help us. If you also take war strategies into account if we befriend boarding countries we wouldn’t have to worry about them invading.”

“It is a good idea, but there are also many downfalls in making alliances.” Noted the king. “Not every country shares our idealistic views for friendship. They may even turn on us in the future.”

“But we will never know unless we try.” Argued Councilman Oh. “Your highness I-” But as he was about to speak the royal chef announced that lunch was ready. The king, who was the most eager to eat, decreed that this topic would be put on hold until the next council meeting.

“This topic will be continued at our next meeting. Thank you for your hard work everyone, especially you Councilman Oh. Let all go to the dining hall for chicken.” All the councilmen got up after the king and proceeded to the dining hall in hopes of feasting on chicken. Councilman Oh on the other hand declined the invitation since he already agreed to meet up with his son for lunch.

As Councilman Oh left the building he quickly spotted his son, Sehun waiting for him outside the doors. Sehun was waiting for his father alongside his best friend Zhang Yixing, who just so happens to be Councilman Oh’s most trusted imperial scholar. After the basic greetings they all made their way towards a small little restaurant.

“Father, how did the council meeting go?” inquired Sehun eagerly “Is the king considering the proposal?”

Councilman Oh shook his head and sighed. “The king seems like he needs more convincing. He is not disregarding the idea, but at the same time he doesn’t particularly like it.”

“Even after talking about the strategic terrain advantage Eterna would have if we were to make alliances?” questioned Yixing.

Councilman Oh nodded dejectedly. “We have to find another way to convince him, using militaristic advantages didn’t work. We have until the next meeting to find some way to convince him not to scrap this proposal.” Councilman Oh turned towards his son and scholar. “Boys, I need your help. We have to find some other means to persuade him.”

“How about we go the economical route? We can preach to him about opening a free trade passage for goods and stuff.” Sehun suggested. “It could benefit Eterna greatly through imports and exports.”

“I agree with Sehun. Economically alliances are also very advantageous.” Yixing gave Sehun a nod. “Sir, I would be more than glad to start researching on the topic for you with Sehun’s help of course.”

“That is a brilliant idea, boys. I expected nothing less from my son and you of course Yixing.” Councilman Oh beamed proudly.

“Thank you father.”

“It is an honor sir.” Yixing bowed his head respectfully.

“Well then with that settled lets order some food. I am starving. You boys, have no idea how crazy it was in the court room.”Councilman Oh shivered at the thought of Councilman Im preaching about the evils of salad, and with that they began to have a peaceful lunch.

-

Back in the palace courtyard all the knights were hard at work. Training was mandatory for every knight in the palace. All the knights and knights-in-training were hard at work preparing for the annual title competition/festival. This competition is where knights compete with one another to determine who is skilled enough to earn their titles, and for those whom already have a title to show skills in hopes of earning a mentorship from one of the three legendary knights. The mentorship selection only takes place once every five years.

As of now there are only three knights who have earned their legendary titles, the Legendary Kwon Twins; Kwon Dongmin and Kwon Woobin both of which are the king and queen’s personal guards and Lee Aejung the Lady Knight. Lee Aejung is not only the youngest legendary title holder, but also the only female knight to serve in the royal castle. This year the winner of the competition would have the honor of receiving a mentorship of Eterna’s Legendary Lady Knight.

“I can’t believe this year I will be a mentor.” Squealed Aejung happily. “I can’t wait to meet my mentee!”

“Well you earned it.” Consented Dongmin proudly. “You were the student of THE Legendary Kwon Twins after all.”

“Sunbae, don’t be so full of yourself!” reprimanded Aejung.

“I agree with Aejung. You’re lucky all the ladies don’t know how lame you really are.” Teased Woobin mercilessly.

“Hey, chicks love Dongmin the Destroyer.” Said knight even struck a pose to prove his point.

Aejung shook her head in disappointment, “I am ashamed to call you my mentor.”

“You can only imagine how I feel calling him my brother.” Sighed Woobin.  Aejung gave Woobin a gentle pat on the back. 

“Be that way guys.” Dongmin rolled his eyes. Must they always team up on him? “I can’t wait till you get a boyfriend Aejung, I am going to embarrass you so bad you will regret the day you messed with Dongmin the Destroyer.”

“Whatever. I have Woobin the Willful on my side. Right Sunbae?”  Aejung looked at Woobin expectantly only to be faced with him rubbing his head in an unsure fashion.

“I don’t know Aejung, he isn’t called Dongmin the Destroyer for nothing.”

“SUNBAE!” Wailed Aejung. “I thought you can take him!”

Woobin, stunned by her lack of faith argued, “Hey, I never said I couldn’t, but at my age I would like to get married sometime soon and if there is one thing that Dongmin is good at it is destroying my reputation. Sorry you are on your own kid.”

“Jerk.”

As the trio continued to bicker they failed to notice the princess skipping merrily towards them. Once she was in range she proceeded to tackle her faithful Lady Knight playfully. “Junggiefish! Are you ready? I have to visit the city today. I just finished the entire stack of paperwork daddy left me and I feel like I need a treat!”

The female knight laughed. “Well that was a big pile of work. It managed to keep you from leaving your room for three days. Being a princess must be hard.”

“You bet it is! We haven’t seen Saebaby or Jaestar in days! It was agonizing.” The dramatic princess did a mock faint to prove her point.

“Technically you didn’t see them for three days. I saw them yesterday on my way to the outer gates.” Chirped Aejung.

“WHAT!? UNFAIR! I NEED TO SEE THEM NOW! TO THE STABLES MY LADY KNIGHT!” exclaimed the princess ostentatiously. “MAKE HASTE!”

Her Lady Knight laughed at the Princess’s antics and bowed. “Right away my lady.” Aejung smiled playfully and proceeded to the stables.

The princess then decided to turn her attention to the two other knights who just so happens to be standing next to her. “Oh! Sorry guys! I am taking Junggiefish for the rest of the day. You guys can handle the rest of the preparations right? Thank you!” And with that she went on her merry way leaving the twins dumbfounded.

As Hyorin and Aejung were about to exit the palace courtyard they unfortunately bumped into the King who was on his way back from the council meeting. “Hyorin, where do you think you are going? Did you finish the paperwork I left you? Those need to be done before the festival.”

“I know daddy. I just wanted some fresh air.” Hyorin smiled happily. “I will finish them when I get back.”

“Nope. You need to finish them now.” The king’s voice was stern. He was not going to take no for an answer.

“B-b-but daddy!”

“No buts! If you don’t finish those proposals by tomorrow you will be banned from attending the festival with your friends.”

“Daddy!” Whined the princess. “Fine! I will go finish them.” She promptly hopped off the horse she was sharing with her Lady Knight and stomped all the way back into the palace anger apparent in every stomp. The King nodded at Aejung and both of them went their separate ways.  

-

Meanwhile at the local tavern a little scribe boy girl was busy scribbling away at a fancy piece of parchment while a noble lady was busy professing her love for the scribe to write down. Annoyance was apparent as she was furiously slashing at paper mercilessly.

“Oh darling, don’t forget to dot the ‘I’s with hearts.” The lady giggled furiously. “I want my husband to know how much I love him.” The cross dressing writer sighed. Unfortunately this scenario is very routine. This love-struck lady was one of her best customers. She would always come to Youngjae (aka. Hyunjae) when she desperately needs to send her husband a love letter, which in most cases was three to four times a week.

The noble lady nodded happily satisfied with the additional hearts Hyunjae added to her love letter, free of charge. “Oooh! That is lovely dear. I am so glad I found you. All the other scribes’ attempts at doodling hearts are simply horrendous.” She even pulled out a hanky to wipe her tears. Tears induced by the mere thought of sending her husband a love letter soiled by disproportionate hearts. The horror!

Hyunjae sighed. ‘Here we go again’ she thought numbly.

“Oh how I wish my niece can meet a man who has flawless penmanship like yours. The overall impact of a love letter is greatly affected by the handwriting as well as the content, and despite being a nobleman his is disastrous.” She exclaimed furiously. “I have no idea what she sees in that boy! Oh how I wish you, Youngjae were of noble birth then I could set you up! It would be lovely wouldn’t it darling?”

Hyunjae cringed at the thought. ‘If her niece was anything like her…I don’t even want to know.’ “That is very considerate of you.” She replied with all the false disappointment she could muster.

“It is okay darling. I understand.” She quickly checked the time and gasped. “Oh dear I am running late! Well I must be on my way; by any chance can you sent the letter for me? I need to be present at my cousin’s tea party.”

“Well it wouldn’t be an interesting party without you.”

“Exactly darling! Ciao!” She quickly handed Hyunjae an enormous wad of bills, winked, and bolted out the door in a flurry.

“Dude…that is going to be one crazy tea party.” Hyunjae turned around to see her childhood friend Han Saehyun smiling. Saehyun was the daughter of the local physician. She was also a very good physician herself. Earlier Saehyun was patently waiting for the eccentric love letter lady to finish her usual lengthy monologue.

“I know right?” Hyunjae gestured towards the now vacant seat.

Saehyun giggled and quickly sat down. “I brought you lunch!” She pulled out a loaf of bread from her humongous grocery basket.

“Bread again?” Hyunjae looked at Saehyun with a devious look in her eyes. “You have been buying a lot of bread lately. Is there a reason why?”

“No…”

“LIAR!” Saehyun tried her best to look indifferent about the topic, but Hyunjae wasn’t having any of that.  “Spill. It is still about the baker boy across the street from your house.”

“…Kinda. That and they make really good bread.”

“Sure it is. You keep telling yourself that.” Hyunjae teased.  She then gestured to Saehyun’s  massive grocery bag. “Is Uncle Han back in town today?”

“Yep. He just got back from the border. He says he managed to help the physicians there cultivate their own herbs.” Saehyun squealed in excitement. “He also said that he is bringing back some dried herbs that only grow on the border. I can’t wait to see them!”

“…That sounds…fun.” Hyunjae took a bite out of the loaf of bread hungrily.

“Isn’t it? Oh how is Youngjae by the way? Is he doing well in school?”inquired Saehyun thoughtfully.

“He is a little brat, but he is at the top of his class as always.” Replied Hyunjae. “That reminds me I need to pay for his school fees. Would you like to come along?”

“Sure!”

-

Meanwhile at Kim’s Confectionaries it was chaos. Since it was lunch time the demand for their world famous bread was increased tenfold.  Joonmyun didn’t really mind though, he simply loved his job. He would spend countless hours trying to make new recipes for his family’s bakery. Making bread is a lifestyle to him. Just as he was about to bring out another batch of cinnamon rolls his mother burst through the doors with a satisfied look on her face.

“Whew! Lunch time is almost over, and we managed to sell almost all our bread.” She then turned to her son. “Joonmyun give me that tray honey. You need to eat.”

Joonmyun smiled at his beloved mother. “Mom it is okay. I can handle it.”

Ms. Kim, regardless of what her son just said snatched the tray of cinnamon rolls from her son’s arms and shooed him with a flick of her wrist. “Nonsense, you have been baking all morning. You even skipped breakfast. What kind of mother would I be letting my son starve while I own a bakery?”

She grabbed several different buns from the counter and shoved them in Joonmyun’s arms. “Besides! There is someone waiting for you out back. Go eat lunch with the poor boy. Make sure both of you eat, you boys are too skinny! Next time invite him over for dinner okay?” She then proceeded to promptly shove Joonmyun out the back door without an afterthought.

Outside the bakery, a lean messenger boy was waiting patiently. He was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed; a smile graced his face instantly as soon as he saw the baker boy pushed through the backdoors. “Hyung!” The messenger boy called.

“Jongin, did you wait long?”asked Joonmyun politely.

“Yeah, cause someone here was too busy making cinnamon rolls.” Jongin teased.

“You could have always come in and helped. You are always welcomed here.” Joonmyun offered

“Yeah and risk you threatening me with a spatula again? Not a chance hyung.”

“…that was only one time, and it was because you got the salt and sugar mixed up.” That to Joonmyun was a great offense. Jongin rolled his eyes and Joonmyun playfully punched him.

“Here.” Joonmyum handed Jongin half of the rolls his mother sent him off with. “My mom says you are too thin.”

“Really now? At least I am tall.”

“Hey!” After the initial teasing both boys began to eat and converse naturally. After all they were best friends. Jongin would always come to Joonmyun if he ever needed anything and vice versa. They talked about work, life, and pretty much everything.

“Are you going back to work today Jongin?” inquired Joonmyun.

“Yep. I need to pay for rent.”

“Ah, I see. Are we still meeting up with Sehun and Yixing for the festival?”

Jongin rattled his brain for information about the festival, but unfortunately the date escapes him. “When was that again hyung?”

“Three days from now.” Joonmyun chuckled. Jongin could be so forgetful sometimes.

Jongin nodded. “Yeah I can make it.” With that the both the boys finished their food, said their goodbyes, and went back to work.

-

The sun began to set as Hyunjae was still scribbling away at the local tavern. A certain nobleman requested that she transcribe the entire collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets. If she were to have it done by this time next week he would pay her extra. Working as a scribe was rather tedious, but so long as she writes neatly and quickly the pay was good. And boy did she need it.

Youngjae’s annual tuition fee was almost her entire salary for the year. She was the one who insisted on sending Youngjae to a prestigious school. She knew that despite him being a brat almost all the time, he was smart. It would have been a waste if he didn’t attend a good school.

Youngjae decided that at an early age he wanted to become an Imperial Scholar. He said something along the lines of wanting to give everyone a fair chance at happiness or something like that. She didn’t really bother to ask him. So long as he wanted to learn she was willing to help him, and that was that.

As she finished her forty-seventh sonnet she noticed that the sun had already set. Suddenly she remembered something; she forgot to send the letter she wrote for her client earlier that day. She figured that if she hurried she would be able to get to the post office in time. She quickly threw all her quills and paper in her bag and set off.

As she was frantically running through the dark, empty streets of Eterna with her letter in hand she failed to notice a stranger turning the corner. The same exact corner she was hoping to speed through. As they both collided a mess of assorted envelopes flew up into the air.

“Hey watch where you are going!” exclaimed Hyunjae.

“Hey kid, you were the one who ran into me.” The stranger took a quick glance as the fallen letters. He sighed and began to start picking them up. He glanced at the little boy curiously. “Are you going to help me kid?”

Hyunjae who was currently digging through the mass of letters looked up and replied. “Sorry. I lost my letter in this mess. I need to get it to the post office before it closes.”

The stranger took a good look at the boy and noticed that this boy was probably very young. “Hey, kid. This is not a good time for little boys like you to be outside. How about this? If you help me pick up all these letters I will personally sent yours for you.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“…Well if you haven’t noticed my bag.” He gestured to his messenger bag with the Eterna post office insignia on it. “I work for the post office, and why is your letter so important anyways?”

After hearing his offer she decided that it was a whole lot better than running all the way to the post office. “Fine, I will help. And for your information that one letter took about three hours to write.” With their combined efforts they managed to pick up all the scattered letters.

The messenger held up a very familiar pink envelope and began to read out loud. “To My Beloved Husband Alan.” He quirked and eyebrow questionably.

“Hey, I just wrote it for the lady.”

“Sure, you did shortie.” Teased the messenger. “As I promised I will send this letter for you. So hurry up and go home. It is dark out.”

“Whatever. Thanks…um…what was your name again?”

The messenger boy, whom as already started to walk the opposite direction turned his head around and did a quick wave, trying very much to look cool. “Jongin, my name is Kim Jongin.”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

At last, chapter one is finally out!

Sadly it was kinda dry, but it sets up for a bunch of other fun things in the future!

Thank you for reading.