“Remember my wedding day?”  Asked Bom animatedly and Dara, who had forgotten about the Winter setting in over Ilindria, laughed as she did remember.

                “I’ve never seen you look so surprised in my life!”  She replied and imitated Bom’s open mouth and incredibly wide eyes.

                At their wedding Daesung had waited until he and Bom were man and wife.  Then as he reached to draw his wife into his arms he had reached behind her with both hands.  For a few moments he had forgotten his own plans as he felt Bom press against and cling to him with beautiful implicit trust.  Then he had stepped back and flinging both arms into the air had let two fountains of water spring from his hands.  Bom had squealed as water sprinkled over her then gasped in astonishment as flowers began to fall with the water over her.  She stared first at Dasung then at the water spurting up then down onto her from his up-stretched hands and Daesung had laughed at her comical astonishment.  It took Bom several more minutes of white, cream, pink and red roses, daisies, lilies, sweet-peas, and forget-me-nots falling around her before she finally decided that Daesung could not have just started sprouting flowers.  It took her an additional minute to realise how he must have done it then with tears of joy glistening in her eyes she had flung herself once more at her husband and the fountains had died down suddenly as Daesung locked his arms once more around his bride.

                “I’ve never seen anyone as happy as you were on your wedding day.”  Said Dara softly and Bom grinned broadly, the sheen on her eyes showing just how deeply that happiness still ran.

                “What was your wedding like?”  Ventured Bom after a moment and Dara was suddenly jerked out of the happy realms of her friend’s own storybook wedding.  Someone thumped on the door and Dara thanked the interruption silently and devoutly.  Minzy fell into the room, hugged Bom hard then pushed back.  “TaeYang is…fighting out there?  Against him?” 

It was Dara who nodded.  Minzy sat down and stared at her older sister.  “He won’t win.”  She said quietly.  “They can’t beat him.  JiYong’s fire can’t beat his cruelty.  Seoulician must lose the war.”

“Daesung is fighting too.”  Remarked Bom somewhat crisply and Minzy apologised to her sister hastily.  Standing at the window all three women watched the battle between the two Fire Kings.  One ruled by loss, the other by hate.  Suddenly Bom said something excitedly and incoherently and dashed to open the door and meet Daesung and TaeYang who was riding up to the house.

                “We are being pushed back, JiYong has asked Dara and Bom to ride to Imjayon and ask for their help.  It will take them a few hours to get there but the horses will last and he hopes to hold his brother off long enough for more troops to arrive.”

He had shouted everything out before his horse stopped so he could jump off.  Bom flung herself into his arms before he could do anything else and he held her as he repeated his message at a slightly slower speed.  Dara listened thoughtfully, then addressed TaeYang as the slightly superior general.

                “Why aren’t you winning TaeYang?”  It was not an accusation, just an honest question.

                “JiYong and his brother are both fire kings.  I use fire as well although mine is vastly different to theirs.   The problem is that any type of fire helps your husband.  As you know a fire king can’t be burnt to death.  The fire just helps him so it renders JiYong and I largely useless as anything other than ordinary soldiers and although Daesung uses water, he is only one man and cannot be in three places at once.”  TaeYang ran one hand through his mohawk distractedly.   Daesung lifted his chin from Bom’s shoulder.   

“Also, our troops are not greatly pleased to be fighting under a king who cares so little for their wellbeing.  They are fighting for their lives but for little else and I cannot rally a whole army together in the middle of a battle.”  He sounded more frustrated now and Dara looked sympathetic as she listened.  She was opening to speak when Minzy suddenly spoke up from beside her. 

“What if there was something to counter JiYong’s and your fire as soon as it achieved the purposes you want it to?”

Taeyang tipped his head, not understanding.  Suddenly Minzy’s eyes dilated, TaeYang dove off his horse as Minzy flung her arm out and one of Ilindria’s soldiers tumbled onto the ground dead with several marble darts through his chest.  TaeYang stood up and watched Minzy slowly start breathing again.

                “What were you saying Minzy?”

                It took Minzy several moments before her vision focused on taeYang once more.  He had to repeat the question then she blinked and stepped forward.  “Take me with you and I’ll show you.”

                For a moment TaeYang eyed her, biting the inside of his lip thoughtfully.  Then with a shrug her lifted her onto his horse, swung up behind her and pulled the animal around.  Daesung reached for his own horse and started when he almost knocked Dara over.  She had moved in front of him to ask quite calmly, “Take me to JiYong please Daesung.” 

                Daesung stared at her.  He was slower than TaeYang at making such decisions especially when the decision involved the girl who JiYong loved.  “JiYong is at the front.  It’s not… a safe place.”

                “I doubt it would be any safer for JiYong than it would be for me.”

                “Yes but it is your safety that he is concerned about.”

                Dara took a moment to appreciate the soft fleecines of Daesung’s voice, so different to the careful precision of JiYong’s voice then returned to the matter at hand. 

              “If Seoulician loses the war then my safety would be in even more jeopardy.  Please, just take me to him Daesung.”

Bom grabbed Dara’s arm and the two friends stared at each other.  Bom had been like a sister to Dara, letting the princess experience a carefree life Dara would not have known otherwise.  “Don’t die.”  Said Bom quietly.

                “I’m not the one riding to Imjayon by myself.”  Retorted Dara.  They reached to hug each other at the same time annd just for a moment, clung to a childhood they would never return too.  Then Dara let go and stepped towards Daesung's horse.