It had completely slipped her mind that Wonwoo was there that day in the battle. She was too caught up in thinking about Seungcheol, the hostages and her own circumstances that Wonwoo did not cross her mind once in the past few days. Being reminded of him made her blood run cold, and she felt stifled with concern for him.

What had happened to him? Haein was worrying about him, and so it must mean that he had not written to her in a long time.

If he did take part in the battle, it could mean that he was one of the hostages…

But it could also mean that he was… Yewon gulped as she considered it. No, it couldn’t be, she told herself. It didn’t make sense that he would be gone so soon and so suddenly. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be. She found herself wishing that he were one of the hostages so that she could forget that other possibility and not even consider it

That seed of doubt in her heart was pulling her down into miserable places. Just the possibility that Wonwoo was no more made her feel sick.

-

The trip back to Galacia was far from comfortable. She worried a lot about Wonwoo and felt queasy all throughout. She couldn’t tell whether the nausea she experienced was a result of her anxiety for Wonwoo, the sea or perhaps even a potential baby in her belly, but whatever it was, it made for a very uncomfortable journey.

To add to that anxiety, she eventually learned that the nausea was not because of a potential baby. She cried when she saw the blood on her undergarments. Everything that happened between her and Soonyoung– for nothing? The lengths that she had gone to avoid the situation she was currently in– all in vain. She didn’t know what she was going to do now. What made it worse was that she had no one to talk to about it, no one to ask for advice. She was all alone in this, which it made it even more unbearable.

-

She could have never imagined how hollow she would feel when she arrived at her home for the first time in months.

As she stepped onto the Galacian port with the Solenese delegation that escorted her, she was not consumed by any kind of pleasant nostalgia like she had expected. Everything felt darker all of the sudden. The familiar frigid air no longer felt homely; it simply felt cold.

When she arrived in the palace, the Solenese guards suddenly drew their swords and pointed them at her, and she knew why that was happening. She was the hostage which was precious for the enemy, i.e. Galacia; one wrong move from that enemy, and they would use those swords against her.

She did miss her home. No matter how horrible the circumstances, the familiar Galacian palace halls alleviated the strain in her heart just barely. She missed the floors and the walls and the familiar faces of the staff. She missed the scent of burning logs in the fireplace.

Her family was in the throne-room when she entered. There were her parents, her sisters, her brother, Tati and Don. But she could hardly pay them any attention, and that brief blissful feeling of being back in her home was instantly crushed when she saw Seungcheol.

He looked so much skinnier, so much paler and most shockingly, hurt. He was sitting on his knees, his shoulders hunched and his head down, chained to her father’s throne like a dog. The metal around his neck and wrists left red marks. He was dirty and his clothing was in tatters. And through the holes in his clothing, Yewon could see bruises from numerous beatings he had acquired in his time here. His arms and legs were wrapped with cloth that was stained with blood.

She felt her heart sink to her feet. How could her people do this to him? He was her husband. She was truly surprised, for she had somehow thought they would treat him like a royal guest, not a prisoner. She was so troubled by the sight of Seungcheol like that, that she wasn’t even comforted by the smiling faces of her family who were happy to see her again.

The Galacian guards began to unlock the chains around Seungcheol’s arms and neck. They were not gentle at all as they did so. Seungcheol winced in pain as his arms were jerked upwards roughly and the metal plowed into the bruises on his neck when the guards were trying to remove the chains.

Yewon wanted to speak, but she felt voiceless in the face of everything around her: the swords which were now acutely directed towards her, her father’s merciless glower, Seungcheol as a prisoner, all of the guards, her family watching as if it were some show. She felt like she had no voice at all in the midst of this, and neither did Seungcheol. She was nothing but a commodity to be exchanged with him, who himself was another commodity.

Seungcheol could not even stand. He had to be helped up by the Solenese representative. And she was not released either, as her father agreed, as per the request of the representative who worried about being attacked while still on Galacian land, to keep her with them until they boarded the ship back to Solen and were on their way.

And so Yewon did spend minutes in Seungcheol’s company as they rode back to the ports again. She was in a carriage, riding with the Solenese representative, Seungcheol and a guard who still had his sword pointed towards her.

“Lower your sword,” Seungcheol hoarsely ordered the guard, who hesitantly obliged.

That was the only thing he said for the entire ride towards the ports. He did not even lift his head from the ground to look at her. And she, also, was too ashamed of what her country had done to him to say anything.

She didn’t know what was going to happen. She was still officially married to him­, but from the way that Seungcheol was treated, she knew that her father no longer considered him a son-in-law at all.

She then felt the menstrual cramps, reminding her once again that she failed to be pregnant. She felt so pressured all of the sudden– this marriage was on the brink of dissolution and she didn’t know what she could do to save it.

When they finally arrived in the ports and descended from the carriage, Yewon followed them until they arrived at the ship. Yewon noticed that her father had followed them in another carriage behind them. He had approached the dock, waiting for the delegation to board.

Seungcheol and the Solenese representative were the first to climb into the bridge to board the ship. Yewon expected that he would turn his head to look at her one last time, as a goodbye; he was probably aware that this might be the last time he could see her, but he didn’t even spare her a second glance. And she felt hurt by that. After everything that happened between them, he was just going to leave her without looking at her once? It felt so unfair for things to just end this way.

In frustration, she yelled out loud enough for him to hear, “Prince Seungcheol!”

Seungcheol, who was being escorted into the ship, stopped in his tracks and lifted his head and looked at her. He eyed her expectantly, as if waiting for her to say something.

“I will… I will see you again…” she muttered.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that a question or a statement?” he asked tiredly.

“Both,” she managed.

“I don’t think you will, your highness,” he responded. Yewon felt her heart drop. Hearing him say it somehow made it a reality, one that she did not want to accept. She didn’t want this to be the last time she saw him. She didn’t want her last image of him to be one where he was bloodied and in tatters. She wanted to see him again in all his royal splendor; she wanted to make him smile at her again. She wanted to continue down the road they had been going right before the battle; it had been going so well...

“I’m going to see him again, right?” she asked, turning to her father, who was standing at the side watching them.

“Princess Yewon,” her father replied with a frown on his face, “stop it.”

“That’s a no then?” Yewon asked her father, choked up and on the verge of tears.

“We will discuss this later…”

“You’re not going to let me see him again, are you?” Yewon concluded, and she couldn’t help but cry, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

“Princess Yewon,” Seungcheol called out to her loudly despite his scratchy, worn-out voice. “Why are you crying? Don’t compromise your honor and show weakness in public; that's not like you.”

She tried to stop crying, but somehow his request made her sadder. It felt like he was acknowledging the end of their association with this request, and it made her want to cry.

“I don’t understand why you’re crying right now,” Seungcheol said with a disapproving frown. “Look to the future, princess, when you’ll be married to a man who will love and cherish you in ways I couldn’t. Now please stop crying and lift your head up.” His voice went softer all of the sudden: “I wish you all the happiness in the future, your highness, truly,” He bowed his head slightly and then continued on his way into the ship. Yewon just watched him as an overwhelming sense of loss washed over her.

He made it seem so… so final.

The last guard climbed into the ship, and she was finally released as Galacian guards replaced the Solenese ones.

She did not move though, even when her father beckoned her; she just stood there watching the ship raise its anchors and slowly drift away.

A/N: I’m sorry, I tried to give you guys a happy moment but i failed TT