“Feel free to come back whenever you can.” Joe says happily.

“Thanks again. For everything.” Key answered gently. “We definitely will. If you ever need help from me, give me a call and I’ll do everything to the best of my abilities to help you.”

“We gotta start leavin’ prince.” One of the crew members on the ship told him.

“Thank you for the help Sam.” Amber told the doctor.

“Glad you’re feeling better Miss.” Sam replied. Amber turned to face everyone in the village who has made quite a crowd. Within a week time frame, Key has made close friends with the whole village and Amber has became quite popular with the kids.

“Amber-ah!” one of the kids came running in. She ran to her and hugged her leg. “Please don’t go!” the kid begged her crying. Amber smiled and crouched down to face the kid.

“It’s okay little Seo-yeon. I’ll come back and visit you.” Amber tells her kindly, the little girl’s hair.

“Promise?” the little girl asked, stifling her cries, holding her pinky up. Then Amber hooked her pinky with the little girl’s.

“Promise.” and then Amber gave her a hug. Soon after that, a whole wave of kids came flooding in.

“Amber-ah!” they all came in yelling and crying. 

“Princess! We have to go!” a crew member shouted. Amber nodded and then she turned back to the kids.

“I’ll come back. I promise.” Amber told them. Then they all started to cry and hug her, not wanting to let go. Their parents had to literally come in and pull them away so that Amber can get on the ship. Key laughed at Amber hysterically and she whacked his on the head. He cried in pain for a bit but didn’t stop laughing. 

“What are you laughing about?” Amber shouted at him jokingly hinted with a little frustration.

“You are really popular with the kids. They pretty much barricaded you, not letting you leave.” he laughed, trying to stop. She couldn’t say anything so she just smiled and shook her head. They both turned to the village and waved their good byes. The village waved back, bidding them farewell. 

“I’m going to miss them.” Amber said softly.

“If you got to choose, would you live here or would you live at home?” Key asked her.

“You are going to get a very biased answer.” Amber glanced at him. “I’ve lived in that palace for all my life as opposed to me living here for a week.” Then she paused and think. “You know, you really can’t compare. It’s just different. It’s like asking me what is my favourite colour because to tell you the truth, I don’t have a favourite. Colours depend on my mood on that particular day. So, I can’t really give you an answer.” she finally said. 

“Then what kind of colour are you feeling right now Ms. Amber?” Key asked her. She thought about it.

“... Green.” she responded.

“You feel sick?” Key asked laughing.

“No. Green is a bright and happy colour but can also be regarded as sad depending on what your perspective is on it. I’m happy that I’m going home but I’m sad that I’m leaving such a happy and peaceful village.” Amber explained. Key nodded understandingly and agreed to her thinking. Then they both watched the little village quickly disappear off into the horizon. 

~

“How long is the ride going to be?” Key asked the captain who has come over to watch the sunset with him. They have been sailing for about half a day now and Amber has gone down stairs in the crew room to get some rest.

“About one more day. We should arrive tomorrow afternoon.” the captain reported. Key nodded and looked off into the horizon. 

~

The next day, the ship has made it safely and successfully to Seongnam just as the captain has said. Meanwhile, back in the castle….

“Your Majesty! Stop getting so reckless!” Mr. Choi told Victoria, trying to calm her down. 

“How?! HOW?! Princess Amber’s been missing for 3 weeks and I have heard nothing from the search team. Those guys are worthless and hopeless!” Victoria shouted.

“They’re trying their best your majesty. But they did manage to find the pirates that have been sailing out at sea that people have been witnessing over the years. They have managed to arrest them and bring them back for further punishment.” Mr. Choi said optimistically. 

“I don’t care about the stupid pirates right now! Right now, I’m focused on my lost little sister! How can you be so optimistic about any of this?!” Victoria shouted. Then, the general came in. 

“Your highness.” The general came in reporting sadly. 

“What? What happened?” Victoria said as calmly as she could, trying to keep the image of a queen.

“We weren’t able to find Princess Amber but we did in fact find blood that belonged to her on an island not far from here.” the general reported hesitantly. Shocked, Victoria fell back onto the couch. But then she got up and stood her ground. 

“Well, blood means nothing. She could’ve probably just cut herself when she was staying there.” Then she swallowed hard. “No matter what happens, no matter what you find, if I don’t see her body, I will always believe that she remains alive.” Victoria stuttered.

“But Your Majesty. It’s been 3 weeks and there still isn’t any sign of princess Amber. I’m afraid that-” then the servant, Carol, came bursting in.

“Your Majesty! Princess Amber. She’s… she’s...” then Carol bursts into tears, not able to finish her sentence. Victoria got the wrong message, thinking that Carol is crying with sadness, when really, she was overwhelmed with joy. Victoria braced herself for the worst and left the main living room and into the main hall. There she was, standing there. Amber alive, well and happy. Amber looked up to her sister and smiled.

“I’m back sis.” Tears overflowing her eyes, Victoria ran up to Amber, almost tripping over her own feet, embracing Amber. 

“You scared everything out of me!” Victoria scolded with happiness. Soon, the other princesses have received the message and are tumbling down the stairs to reunite with Amber. 

“Amber! We were so worried!’ Luna shouted in tears.

“Where have you been?!” Sulli asked.

“Don’t you ever do this again!” Krystal exclaimed. Their warmth and tears has caused Amber to start tearing up.

“I’m sorry for making you guys worry.” Amber told them. Victoria looked up and noticed that Key was standing by the door with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“What are you doing here?” Victoria asked Key, wiping away her tears.

“Waiting for a new ship.” Key responded. “I called home a couple minutes ago, telling them to come and pick me up. Don’t worry, I’ll get out of your hair in a couple of days when may ride gets here.” Victoria glared at him and turned to Amber.

“What happened to him? He seems, different.” Victoria asked her.

“I’ll explain everything later.” Amber responded softly. “For now, let’s just say, he found his turning point.” 

“Something clearly happened to you too. You seem a lot happier.” Victoria noticed. Victoria looked at her suspiciously but all Amber did was shrug and shake her head, grinning.