Chapter 25. Epilogue.

After a few hours, the palanquins stopped and the ladies went out to stretch their legs. The Dowager Queen helped Mi-young to get out of the palanquin, and the sudden attentive attitude her mother was showing made Taeyeon suspicious.

"You never helped me to get out from a palanquin before, mother. Should I get jealous?"

"Do not worry, Taeyeon." her friend said. "It won’t last long. Maybe nine months, but then, your mother will be normal again."

"Nine months… why would she… And then Taeyeon understood."

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU COMING WITH ME TO CHINA IF YOU ARE PREGNANT, MI-YOUNG?! Are you crazy or what? And mother… WHY DID YOU LET HER DO THIS STUPID THING?!"

"Do you think I am that stupid, Taeyeon? We are not going to China with the Queen pregnant…"

"I am completely lost right now…"

"We will walk for a while…" Mi-young informed to the soldiers.

"As you wish, your highness."

Mi-young offered her arm to Taeyeon and the three ladies walked through the forest for a while, until there were no soldiers around them. Then, a sound made Taeyeon’s heart jump, scared someone might hurt them. But then… when she saw the person…

"YOU SON OF A THOUSAND !"

"I love you too, my princess."

Taeyeon thought that her mind was tricking her once again, because she couldn’t believe that Kwon Jiyong was once again in front of her. But when she saw how her mother and sister were greeting him, she thought that maybe, everything was real. Yet it was so weird that she couldn’t react.

"What… what… are you doing here?"

"I came here to take you with me. If you want, of course."

"…"

"Do you really think I would let you marry a Chinese Prince?" Uhm Jung Hwa said. "No offenses, Mi-young, but your siblings are terrible."

"I know."

"But… the peace… the union between nations… If I elope there will be war…"

"Not if you die, sweetie."

"DIE?!"

The more her mother spoke, the less Taeyeon understood. She was trying really hard not to freak out.

"Tonight, when we are resting at the nearest village, you will take this potion…" Mi-young took a small white bottle. "It would make you look dead for a few hours. Jiyong has the antidote and he will give it to you later. Jinwoo is already there and will play his role as a doctor and say you had contracted the plague. All the soldiers will be so scared that we will leave the place as soon as possible and burn the villa where we will be. That way, nobody will be suspicious of your departure."

"But… but… Daesung, Seung-hyun…?"

"They will think you are dead, sweetie." her mother said. "The more people who know, the bigger the possibilities that our plan goes wrong."

"NO!" she screamed. "I do not want them to suffer more!"

And it was true: she didn’t know if another loss would make her siblings and siblings go completely mad. She couldn’t do that to them.

"We will tell them you left this world happy, because you didn’t have to marry after all. And if Seung-hyun, Daesung or the Royal Children are suffering too much, we will tell him the truth."

"Confidentially, of course." Mi-young added.

"But… but…"

Taeyeon was terrified, not only because she was going to lie to her whole family, but also because they were giving her the chance to be happy. And the feeling was so abnormal for the princess that she didn’t know how to react. Moreover, if she faked her own death, it would mean…

"… I won’t be able to see you again, not even contact you!"

Taeyeon started to have a panic attack and Mi-young hugged her tightly.

"I’d rather live without knowing where you are but knowing you are happy, than seeing you in China unhappy. I have lived there, and trust me, I wouldn’t recommend the Forbidden City even to my worst enemy."

"But… but…"

"Please, Taeyeon… is our only chance to be together." Jiyong insisted.

Together… together… And the Taeyeon remembered the scene Jiyong had made her live a few hours before.

"HOW DARED YOU TO MAKE ME CRY AND SAY GOODBYE IF WE WERE GOING TO MEET AGAIN?! Do you know how hard it was for me?!"

"I know, and I am sorry Taeyeon. But…"

"But what?"

"There were rumors, Taeyeon." Mi-young said. "When the generals saw you interact with lord Jiyong, they knew there was something wrong there. And the Chinese ambassador heard the rumors and threatened to inform the Emperor if you didn’t say goodbye to each other definitely. That’s why Seung-hyun let you met, because the Chinese ambassador was watching."

"Please, my daughter, say yes. I do not wish to see any of my children living a miserable life, not after what happened."

Taeyeon stared at the three people with her on that lonely forest and felt emotional, because the three most important people in her life had united in order to make her happy. Risking everything the diplomacy of Joseon was fighting for, only for her happiness. She was so grateful that she had to say yes immediately.

"Good!" the three yelled.

"Then." Mi-young gave her the bottle. "Drink this potion now. You’ll start to get dizzy and sleepy, but do not worry. It will be over soon."

Without hesitation, Taeyeon took the entire potion and started to return with her mother and sister towards the palanquins. When they started to move once again, Taeyeon started to close her eyes and the last thing she could say before getting completely sleep was:

"I love you, mother, sister."

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and the feeling that she couldn’t breathe made her get up so fast she got dizzy and almost fainted once again.

"Shhhh, calm, Taeyeon, it’s me, Jiyong!"

At first, she was confused and scared, but then, Jiyong’s bright smile and warm embrace made her feel safe.

"Everything went well?"

Jiyong nodded and was about to kiss her on the lips, but Taeyeon stopped.

"Would you mind if we disappear a bit more before we kiss? I do not wish to be seen by any soldier. This is too good to be true and I want to be sure it won't end."

The former pirate was about to complain, but, then, he realized there was no need to complain, because, for once:

They had all the time in the world.

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A/N: I wrote this epilogue when I started the story. I would have changed some things, but, I prefer to leave it this way, because it reminds me of the beginning of this story, when I still had to figure out some things (about the Silver Dragons, my life... so many things to remember).

Thank you, everyone, for your support.